After completing a Canada-wide "RWALK", Paddy Quiring arrived back in Winnipeg today.

Quiring started her rwalk across Canada on April 13, 2017, exactly one year after her husband passed away due to liver disease.

"That's what inspired the journey," she said.

"Rwalking," according to Quiring, is short for running, walking and cycling, which are the modes of transportation she used to travel 6,211-kilometres from Vancouver to Halifax, where she dipped her toe in the Atlantic Ocean on September 18, 2017, before proceeding to throw herself completely into the water.

"It was challenging and more rewarding than I expected," said Quiring. "I would do it again in a heartbeat."

As a legacy for her late husband, she used the journey to gather donations for the Canadian Liver Foundation and raise awareness for liver disease.

Bianca Pengelly, Regional Coordinator for the Canadian Liver Foundation, said the rwalk was very important to them.

"Physical education is actually a huge part of keeping your liver healthy," Pengelly pointed out. "What she was doing was keeping her liver healthy."

She said that raising awareness is important, since liver disease isn't always related to drugs or alcohol abuse. Pengelly had a liver transplant when she was 18 months old and continues to live with it. 

The rwalk also raised money for Adult and Teen Challenge, who work to combat alcohol and drug addiction that can lead to liver disease as well. Quiring said that they are a preventative and get people in a good environment.

The MLA for River East, Cathy Cox, was also on hand to welcome Quiring home from her journey. They embraced in a big hug when they first saw each other.

"How many people do you know that have been able to rwalk across the country?" Cox exclaimed.

Cox said that Quiring and her live in the same community. When she heard about the rwalk, Cox knew she needed to get involved.

Quiring says the next step for her is to write a book.

"We have never had so much fun in our lives [as we have had] over the last six months," she laughed. Walter Janzen was her partner for the trip, driving the van from one side of the country to the other while also acting as her paparazzi. 

"I'm here to inspire people to dig deep, work on their stuff and move forward," she said about her hope for the rwalk. "You just let your faith move you and whatever happens in the day you just kind of roll with it."

Quiring is ready for the next challenge, which includes her annual marathon run at next week's Siloam Mission Change Happens Radiothon. As for whether she will attempt this journey again, she definitely didn't rule it out. She strongly encourages others to do it as well.

"You should do it," Quiring laughed. "Just quit your job and go!"

She wasn't completely serious about that.