Strength and Conviction: 500 kg of food carried 20 km to food bank

Members of the Conviction Fitness health club took the scenic route when they walked to the Regina Food Bank with hundreds of kilograms of donated food on Saturday.

The quickest and shortest route from their northwest headquarters to the food bank is about nine kilometres. The route Riley Nadoroznick and company are taking is 20 kilometres, cutting through several of the city's parks along the way.

They've walked it twice.

• Regina Food Bank's annual food drive kicked off Monday
• Saskatchewan food banks now feeling full effect of economy's downturn

Last Sunday, four members of the group carried roughly 128 of the 500 kilograms of food donations they raised to the Regina Food Bank. Another 12 members carried the remaining 372 kg on Saturday afternoon.

They picked a tough day for the trek, as Saturday's temperatures hovered around the –20 C mark.

"Mentally, they prepared themselves for a really difficult challenge, and so, they're ready for it," Nadoroznick said.

Among the 12 was the food bank's board chair, Divyesh Patel.

"I'm feeling fantastic," Patel said, adding he thought the temperatures would be colder than they were.

"I don't know if it's because I have a bunch of weight strapped to my back," he said.

Conviction Fitness members train for endurance, running in Spartan races and training in marathons. Giving it their all is nothing new to them, nor is giving back to the community.

• Purolator and Riders team up to raise food and money for Regina Food Bank

"It's kind of a really, big part of what we do at Conviction Fitness," he added. "Every year, we try and give back as much as we can."

Helping those in need is only half of what Nadoroznick is aiming for. The other half is getting people to realize their own strengths, he said.

"The other part is proving to people they're capable of more than they think they are," he said. "By strapping 50, 60 pounds on everybody's back and sending them on a 20 kilometre hike, it changes them."