HUNDREDS OF enthusiastic runners joined Portugal’s First Lady, Maria José Ritta, in a marathon fund-raising sprint round the Parque das Nações in Lisbon recently. Each runner paid five euros to take part in the 10th annual Terry Fox Run, which raises millions of euros worldwide to fund cancer research.
The initiative was co-organised by the Canadian Embassy and Portuguese cancer charity, Liga Portuguesa Contra O Cancro (LPCC).
Several other organisations lent their support, including international pharmaceutical giant Roche, St. Julian’s School (Carcavelos), The American School of Lisbon (Sintra) and Rádio Comercial, which provided the music. Glossy jet-set magazines, Flash and Lux, joined daily national papers Correio da Manhã, Público and Diário de Notícias as sponsors and promoters of the event.
After the race, Maria José Ritta said that she had only managed to get round the entire circuit because she was “a keen jogger” who ran everyday for personal fitness. She also said that LPCC was a charity close to her heart, which she had supported for many years, and added that “it wasn’t important who won but that people had taken part and given so generously”.
A cheque worth 10,000 euros was handed over to LPCC, in the presence of the charity’s president, Dra. Manuela Rilvas, Canadian Ambassador, Patrick Parisot, and Olympic gold medal athletes, Rosa Mota and Nuno Delgado.
The Terry Fox Run and Terry Fox Foundation are set up in memory of brave Canadian bone cancer sufferer, Terry Fox, who almost ran the 5,000km length of Canada, over 143 days, to raise money for cancer research. He died in 1981, shortly after having to stop the marathon, but still managed to raise 24 million Canadian dollars. Chris Graeme
