Thousands of runners and walkers dressed in pink athletic attire took to the streets Sunday for the annual CIBC Run for the Cure.
Sporting hot pink tutus, Sarah Taylor-Haddad and her team, " Team Sarah", walked towards a future without breast cancer for the second year in a row. The team has raised more than $20,000 for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.
"It's definitely a surreal experience," said Taylor-Haddad.
In June 2014, then 26-year-old Taylor-Haddad was diagnosed with breast cancer and was forced to undergo an intense round of chemotherapy followed by surgery, radiation and hormonal therapy. Now, more than a year later, she said she is healthy and strong.
"I was very sick last year and very sore, so for me to do the 5 kilometer walk was really hard," she said.
"This year, to be here walking, and to have hair, is amazing."
Organizers say about 7,000 runners and walkers took part in the Ottawa-Gatineau Run for the Cure, which organizers hoped would bring in more than $1 Million for breast cancer programs and research. In 2014, Run for the Cure events across the country raised a grand total of about $25 Million.
"I am living proof that the dollars we do today do make a difference in patients’ lives," said Susan Enns, a volunteer run co-director. "Speaking from experience, the research that this funds, it gave me better doctors."
Approximately 57 % of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation's revenue comes from the CIBC Run for the Cure.
Next year's event is scheduled for Sunday, October 2nd, 2016.
