The Wigan Runner is in Malta and has already attempted (and succeeded!) running through Paceville as part of his challenge to run 5k in different countries around the world. We contacted Matthew Melling, the Wigan Runner, and asked him about his time in Malta and his plans for upcoming runs on the islands.

Running in Malta

“The plans are to run two or three more times in Malta before returning to Wigan, England on Sunday! Today is Day 1028 in the run streak and I would like to run during the daytime before I leave,” he says. “I want to run in at least two more different places in Malta and local Maltese have been giving me some kind advice on where is best to run as well as many friends and people following who have visited the island too.”

Matthew’s experience on our islands

So, how has Matthew liked the island so far? “One thing that has stood out so far is how nice the Maltese people are, how welcoming they are and genuine too. It reminds me of home,” he admits. “Malta is definitely a beautiful island. Especially Valletta and where there are ancient remains. The island is really natural and every area has something unique about it.”

“Since the last time I was in Malta it seems a lot of construction work has been and still is happening. New hotels have popped up and tourism seems to be booming here which must be a good thing for the Maltese economy. The mix of European and Arabic culture I'm not sure I have experienced anywhere else in the world before and it's very interesting. Running through the Paceville strip was certainly a "different" kind of run!”

Obviously, he noticed something peculiar about our weather. “The weather at night so far has been surreal because my weather app has been saying it's over 20°C however it’s felt so much cooler! One night I even wore a thin running jacket which I didn’t expect!”

Matthew says he’s going to try run at a very popular spot on the Maltese Islands. “I'm looking forward to visiting the Blue Lagoon and caves. I'm wondering where it will be possible to run there!” He’s also thinking of taking a trip to Gozo during his last two days here and running on Malta’s sister isle, too!

And as far as returning to Malta goes, Matthew says he’ll definitely jet back here. “I'd definitely like to come back here and run in different places here!”

Matthew’s current mission

“I originally started running on 1^st January 2017 with a challenge I set myself to run every day for 31 consecutive days during the month. I then aimed to get to 50 days... then a local homeless charity needed to raise money so I decided to carry on running and help raise funds through running everyday."

"Since then we’ve raised money for four other worthy charities and community projects at home (£23,000+) which has inspired me to keep running and this has somehow become my life! I've always loved travelling and this journey has enabled me to travel even more which I'm incredibly fortunate and thankful for.”

“I'm currently raising money for the Wigan Dodgeball Warriors, a fantastic Junior Dodgeball team I have now been lucky to coach for over five years in Wigan. We came second at the 2018 Dodgeball World Cup at Madison Square Garden, New York, USA and now have qualified for the 2020 Dodgeball World Cup in Cairo, Egypt.”

Matthew says that the goal is to take 10 children to represent Wigan and England in the World Cup. But obviously funds are needed to make this happen. If you’d like to donate, you can click the GoFundMe page here.

“I've been lucky to run in 22 countries across 4 continents so far and I want to run in many more.. Africa and South America would be fantastic! I just need to stay focused on running every day, my body and keep this streak and journey going!” he concludes.

You can follow The Wigan Runner’s progress on his socials! Thanks for coming to our rock, Matthew!