RAK gears up for first Terry Fox Run to be held on Friday

Ras Al Khaimah will host the first annual RAK Terry Fox Run on Friday, March 5, 2010, keeping alive the worthy cause of cancer research funding championed by Terry Fox.
The event, organised under the patronage of Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, will start off at the RAK Corniche at 9 am. The registrations/ submission of sponsorship forms will begin at 7.30 am.
The open- for- all- event will feature a 5 km run aimed more at runners and joggers and a family run of 3 km for adults, children and families who can walk, skateboard, rollerblade, cycle, jog or even push the baby stroller in the non-competitive event. The run would start off and end at the cornice area opposite the Al Safeer Market. The entire money raised at the event will be donated to the UAE University Hospital in Al Ain where a number of ongoing and impressive cancer research projects are being conducted.
The run takes forward the mission of Terry Fox, who became an enduring global icon as he attempted to run across Canada in 1980 after losing a leg to bone cancer, to raise funds for cancer research. Sadly, Terry's bone cancer returned during his run and he died shortly after at the age of just 22.
Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Ambassador Kenneth Lewis, Canadian Ambassador to the UAE, Kris Panday, Canadian Consul General in Dubai, are among the dignitaries expected to attend the event.
Kenneth Lewis, Canadian Ambassador to the UAE, said, “It is an honour for me to participate in the Terry Fox run in Ras Al Khaimah. I have been running in Terry Fox runs since 1980 and have seen the movement grow as I ran them in Japan, Korea, Thailand and Indonesia. It is great to see this Canadian and now global tradition now happening in Ras Al Khaimah and I wish all runners a wind at their backs and sure steps.”
RAK Terry Fox Run organisors said they were delighted at the support and interest the event has generated among various sections of RAK community. “As we went around meeting people to enlist their support, we were surprised that even people who didn’t know about Terry Fox were very much interested in the idea of organising the charity run for cancer research funding. It is really a universal cause and we could see lot of people rallying in support of it,” Jane Shaw, a member of the RAK Terry Fox Run organizing committee said.
Funds are being raised either through direct donations or by individual sponsorship sheets available online. All sponsorship forms will be collected on the morning of the run and exchanged for a run wristband to participate in the chosen distance.