A Nova Scotia man says he recently trained for his first marathon in the most Halifax way possible: by eating dozens of donairs.
asserted
he → say → donairs
As part of his training, David Wadden trekked to 59 different locations to devour the pitas filled with spiced meat, fresh onions and tomatoes covered in a sweet sauce.
asserted
Wadden → trek → sauce
Keeping with local tradition, lettuce was not on the menu.
asserted
lettuce → keep → menu
“At the end of the day, I think it’s the donair itself that just brings everybody together,” he mused.
asserted
he → think → everybody
Wadden moved to Halifax from Cape Breton in 2018.
asserted
Wadden → move → 2018
After realizing he had little to offer in terms of donair recommendations whenever friends visited from outside the city, he embarked on a mission to strengthen his bond with Halifax’s official food.
asserted
he → realize → food
“I decided … what if I ran or did an exercise to get to the donairs?
asserted
I → decide → donairs
And then the name ‘Donairathon’ came to be,” he said.
asserted
he → come → ?
Wadden says he jogged and biked more than 800 kilometres across the city in hopes of locating the best donair, while also getting some exercise.
asserted
he → say → exercise
“Thirty-two kilometres was my longest run: 16 kilometres, eat the donair, and then 16 kilometres back,” he said.
asserted
he → eat → donair
In the process, Wadden says he became a donair connoisseur of sorts and documented his journey online.
asserted
he → say → journey
Get daily National news
He shares his donair reviews afterward, based on his own ranking system, which includes noting the donairs’ weight, price and size.
asserted
which → get → weight
“I don’t have a background in food.
asserted
I → have → food
I don’t know if I have the best palate, but I do know that I can tell you what I’m seeing on my plate,” he said.
asserted
he → know → plate
“So I just broke it down into a quantity category and a quality category of each ingredient in a donair and then kind of gave an overview of what I felt the donair gave me.”
asserted
donair → break → me
“This donair is, it’s a milder spice, but I really like the spice blend that they have and everything that accompanies the donair meat is exactly what I like,” he said.
asserted
he → ’ → what
“It’s a perfect complement to each part.”
asserted
It → ’ → part
The restaurant’s manager, Nidhin George, says the first-place distinction has given them a boost in business.
asserted
distinction → say → business
It really helped us, it really helped the business,” said George.
asserted
George → help → business
“We started getting new customers.
asserted
We → start → customers
People seemed to love the donair.”
asserted
People → seem → donair
Beyond satisfying his own curiosity and cravings, Wadden used the opportunity to help tackle food insecurity.
asserted
Wadden → satisfy → insecurity
He partnered with Feed Nova Scotia, and encourages his fans to donate to the charity through its website.
asserted
He → partner → website
So far, he’s raised more than $2,000.
asserted
he → raise → 2,000
Feed Nova Scotia is even getting a bit creative with the partnership.
asserted
Scotia → get → partnership
They’re measuring donations by, what else, donairs.
asserted
They → measure → donairs
“So if you donate $10, it’s like you donated a donair, $20, you donated two donairs,” said spokesperson Mandi MacDonald.
asserted
MacDonald → donate → donairs
With food bank usage rising across the province, MacDonald says community-led initiatives like Wadden’s can go a long way.
asserted
initiatives → rise → way
“Sometimes just the smallest idea can turn into something that is so, so much bigger,” she said.
asserted
she → turn → something
As for that marathon, Wadden successfully completed it two weeks ago in the Annapolis Valley.
asserted
Wadden → complete → Valley
“It was nice not having a backpack full of camera gear and donair rating supplies on my back.
asserted
It → have → back
So that definitely helped my time,” he said.
asserted
he → help → time
“I did end up training enough, so I did finish the marathon, which was really nice.”
asserted
which → end → marathon
After the nine-month journey, Wadden says he has a newfound appreciation for donairs and the vast community of shop owners and customers that keep the city’s culture thriving.
asserted
that → say → culture
The Aporia
