As thousands of people gather for the Manitoba Marathon next weekend, one Winnipeg runner will be lacing up for his 29th in just over a year.

Ed Toews, 59, has been running marathons around the world for the last 15 months to raise money for Siloam Mission. Toews said he wanted to challenge himself and loves running.

"I decided to use a phrase 'running with a purpose' and I wanted to tie it with running with an organization that I really believed in, a local organization in Winnipeg that really helps in the community," he said.

Image | Ed Toews 2

Caption: Ed Toews completes his 26th marathon in Fargo in May. (RunEdRun/Blog)

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Toews started the quest last March in Slovakia and initially planned to do 20 marathons in that time, but he got his stride and decided to keep going. He's ran in Michigan, Kansas City, Ottawa, Edmonton, and a lot more places.

"Going into this I had absolutely no expectations. It's been wonderful the support that I've gotten," he said.

With his feet to the floor and legs pumping, Toews said that the journey so far has raised more than $35,000 for Siloam Mission.

The Manitoba Marathon will cap off the campaign but Toews said for people who want to contribute they can do through Siloam Mission online.