A teenage marathon runner from Winnipeg endured rain, cold and mud on Sunday to raise enough money to buy 50 turkeys for a local soup kitchen.

Candace Sutherland, 13, ran the full marathon in the Run for the Hills marathon Sept. 17 in the Tiger Hills south of Treherne, Man. In the process, the teen gathered enough pledges to buy food for homeless patrons at the Siloam Mission.

Candace Sutherland (right) stands with some of the 50 turkeys she bought for the Siloam Mission with money raised by her run.
(CBC)

She collected 50 turkeys, all of which will be served at the mission's Thanksgiving dinner. The mission expects to serve 750 meals this Thanksgiving.

Sutherland delivered the frozen birds to the mission on Monday. She said she first thought of helping the homeless last winter while she was training.

"I've seen lots of children and adults standing in soup lines, so that's what made me start wanting to run for the homeless, I guess you can say," Sutherland said Monday.

As for the race itself, "I was just thinking of finish the race, people will be happy," she said. "They'll be able to get their Thanksgiving dinner and that they'll be able to have a nice Thanksgiving dinner."

According to the marathon's website, the 13-year-old came in at five hours, 24 minutes and 25 seconds in the full marathon.

Grand Chief Chris Henderson of the Southern Chiefs Organization thanked the Métis teen, who brought in a Métis flag with the turkeys on Monday.