Virtual run hopes to raise $125K for Alberta cancer centres

EDMONTON It haunted Canadian Olympic gold medal figure skater Jamie Sale when she heard 53 Albertans are told every day: “You have cancer.”

“There can be few families who have not lost a family member or a friend to cancer,” says Sale.

The Alberta Cancer Foundation’s Paula Colvin says: “One in two Albertans will hear they have cancer at some point in their lifetime. One in four will not survive.”

Sale, who lost an 18-year-old cousin to cancer in February, has jumped into action with the enthusiasm she showed when launching a leap on ice. Now a motivational coach and speaker, Sale became an ambassador for a month-long May Alberta Cancer Foundation campaign.

“I am helping lead the Albertans Helping Albertans Virtual 5K run or walk,” says Sale. “The target is to raise $125,000 for the 17 Alberta Health cancer centres. We will be supporting Edmonton’s Cross Cancer Institute, while runners from Fort Mcmurray to Red Deer and Lethbridge will support centres in their areas.”

Participants are asked to walk or run a minimum of five kilometres to support the cancer centre in their area, including the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary.

Setting the pace for Sale, she says, will be her 12-year-old hockey-playing son Jesse.

“Running isn’t my favourite pastime,” says Sale. “My hips and knees both took a beating during my skating career. But Jesse is a fired-up athlete and pushes me well beyond my comfort level.”

More than 20,000 Albertans will be diagnosed with cancer this year and funds raised enhance patient care and comfort. “Every year, 600 survive cancer they would not have survived 25 years ago,” says Sale. “That’s one curve we’d like to see climb dramatically.”

Registration for the virtual 5K run or walk is free for those under 18 and $20 for others. The first 300 to raise $500 and complete the distance win a commemorative race T-shirt. Sign up at albertacancer. ca/virtual5k

Every year, 600 survive cancer they would not have survived 25 years ago. That’s one curve we’d like to see climb.