1980s
He is a survivor of cancer,
with a leg and a half he saunters,
a legacy of charity establishes thereafter,
Terry Fox a name to remember.
Present day
The weather was merciful. The clouds were almost not affected by the gentle zephyr. Birds were nowhere to be seen. The lake at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa was tranquil and slow moving, partly reflecting the cerulean sky above...
The perfect day was set for the Terry Fox Charity Run 2010.
It was just minutes past eight, but the tranquility of the lake was broken as scores of people clad in blue, painted the place blue.
My bro and I, who did not have the time to acquire the t-shirts beforehand failed in my attempt to camouflage amongst the sea of blue. We actually felt kinda left out, as we look like two lost fish going along with the flow of a school of fish. My goodness, these guys were really prepared for this thing.
Unsurprisingly, there are a number of foreigners who also took part in this event. This really goes to show how global the Terry Fox Run is and how global the issue of cancer is. Nah, that's just secondary, the real reason is that the Terry Fox Run was pioneered in Canada, hence it is very well known to foreigners around that region.
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| The front design of this year's Terry Fox Run. Try to spot Terry Fox!! |
The Run was done to raise funds for CARIF(Cancer Research Initiative Foundation), and this year marks its 30th anniversary. These funds are used to further enhance the research of cancer in Malaysia for better treatment of skin cancer, liver cancer and the likes.
Cancer has been one of the silent killers in this millennium, no thanks to the super unhealthy lifestyle or the not-so-good-genes (it’s easier to blame the genes). As the real cure for cancer has yet to be found, it is thus important to generate awareness about cancer, considering how deadly it could be. Also, it is important to remove the dead sentence tag that is usually tagged to it.
To contribute, you can buy or could have bought t-shirts for RM 25 (average price of a t-shirt), whereby the funds would go to CARIF, or you could have participated in the run to show your support (especially for those who are low on budget). But hey, if you missed this event this time around, chill out, because there's always gonna be another one next year.
To contribute, you can buy or could have bought t-shirts for RM 25 (average price of a t-shirt), whereby the funds would go to CARIF, or you could have participated in the run to show your support (especially for those who are low on budget). But hey, if you missed this event this time around, chill out, because there's always gonna be another one next year.
Learn more about CARIF at http://www.carif.com.my/main.htm.
Ah, look at the Blues...
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"Blue people" gathering at an open field. They're preparing for the aerobic warm up conducted by Fitness First. Look at those cute little kids. Mind you, there are gazillions of them, and they ran cutely too. |
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Flag off!!! Move, move move… Unfortunately, the foxes in front did not plan to run from the start, creating a massive traffic jam at the back. Now move it! |
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One of the foxes trying to raise a different kind of awareness... I salute this guy though, for braving the heat with so much hair. XD |
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The end of the race, fortunately, did not meant the end of Milo drinks. Those who ran another round actually had the worry of not being able to get a cup (or two) of refreshing and cooling Milo drink at the end of the race.
I overhead this conversation while walking the second lap:
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The Milo drinks are still free flowing, but look at the line, the lineeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee….. What's that ball doing there? |
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As a final thought, I think that the 2.5 km distance, which is equivalent to one round around the lake, is way too short. It should be at least 5 km, that’s in accordance to the normal range of distance (5 – 15 km) applied in any Terry Fox Run. Also, I notice that there is not any official Terry Fox Run website that has all the information about the run. Maybe the organizers can set up one next year for annual use. :)
Overall, it is a successful event as most of the size m and s t-shirts were sold out. Ironically, my bro and I only got the t-shirt after our run, for they were apparently out of stock before the run. Who says that the early bird gets the worm?
So will I attend the run again? Definitely, if given the chance. I hope you would too.
