Plenty of running, and some rowing

Melanie Swan and Anna Zacharias

• Last Updated: February 21. 2009 8:30AM UAE / February 21. 2009 4:30AM GMT

Viktor Rothlin, of Switzerland, waves as the runners are introduced before the start of the RAK Half Marathon on February 20 2009. Jeff Topping / The National

A two-year-old girl was among the some 15,000 people who joined in yesterday’s Terry Fox Run to raise money for cancer research. It was the capital’s 14th edition of the event, with people from all over the world running, walking, cycling and even rollerblading the route.

Teams from companies and organisations including Mubadala, the Canadian Embassy and the New Medical Centre also turned out in force. The event was opened by Sheikh Mohammed bin Sultan al Nahyan.

Terry Fox developed a rare form of bone cancer as a teenager and ended up having most of his right leg amputated. Three years later, at 21, he set out to run across Canada to raise funds for cancer research. He died a year later, but his legacy inspired the annual charity runs that carry his name and have raised more than $400 million Canadian dollars (Dh1.2 billion) worldwide for cancer research.

The Canadian ambassador, Sarah Hradecky, called it an “amazing” turnout. “We’re delighted to be here. The embassy has always been a hard supporter of this run.”
Along the 8.5km route, 50 Emiratis handed out water to the thousands taking part.

Cecile and Koenie Strydom from South Africa, who have lived in the capital for 18 months, took their two-year-old daughter Jana to the run, explaining to her that it was to help other people.

“She’s been excited for days and even though we were planning on pushing her, she doesn’t want to sit down for long. She’s very lively,” said Cecile, 33.

One person for whom the race had a strong personal significance is Stephanie Woodworth, a respiratory therapist.

Ms Woodworth, 47, lost her right leg at the age of 13 to osteogenic sarcoma, the same form of bone cancer that struck Fox.

It was the first time Ms Woodworth had taken part in the run although she has lived in the UAE on and off since 2001 since leaving her home in Florida.

“Terry Fox has always been one of my heroes,” she said. “He had such passion in the way he helped others. He never stopped helping people until his life ended. It takes great courage to do that.”

Also among the runners was Dr Charles Leduc, the acting chair at the department of family medicine at UAE University, which receives nearly 100 per cent of the donations from the capital’s Terry Fox Run for its various cancer research programmes.

So far, Abu Dhabi’s runs have raised about Dh5 million (US$1.36m) and funded three studies.

Dr Leduc, a French Canadian, has been doing the run in both Canada and the UAE for more than 20 years. Yesterday he decided to do it for the first time on rollerblades.
“Since I first started doing this run in the UAE when I moved here eight years ago, it’s got bigger and bigger.

“Children and schools have shown so much support and interest too. Our research is for the benefit of their generation so it’s important to us. At least the kids will exercise more or benefit from the funds.”

All the money raised from the UAE’s three runs in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi and Dubai is pooled for the university’s research unit.

Organisers are hoping to raise Dh1m to support national cancer research projects this year alone despite the economic downturn. Last year’s run brought in Dh775,000 through donations and T-shirt sales.

The UAE has been a big supporter of the cause. In 2007, the Emirates was the top fundraiser out of 29 countries outside Canada to hold the runs, bringing in more than $411,000. Dubai and Abu Dhabi also had the most participants – 12,000 and 10,000, respectively.
More serious competitors in the RAK Half Marathon treated spectators to a record-breaking day as new course timings were set.

Kenya’s Patrick Makau and Ethiopia’s Dire Tune stunned their rivals in the third marathon yesterday when they set new course records in their respective events. Ten women finished in under 70 minutes while five men beat the 60-minute mark.

Last year’s champion Makau, 23, set the second fastest time in half-marathon history with an astonishing 58min:52sec after an early battle with Ethiopia’s Deriba Merga.

Merga took the lead, keeping a brisk pace for the first three quarters of the race.
After Merga’s three unsuccessful surges to stretch his lead, Makau broke ahead, sprinting to the finish in the final kilometre to claim the title and a first prize of US$28,000 (Dh103,000).

His fellow Kenyan, Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich, overtook Merga and crossed the line seconds behind with a personal best of 58:59.

Merga came third with a time of 59:18, three seconds longer than his best half-marathon time.

Makau — who has run a half-marathon below 60 minutes six times in the last two seasons — now has his sights set on the Rotterdam Marathon in April.

“I’m so happy,” he said. “I was ready to run well. The pace was so good. The weather was so fine because the first 10km the wind was behind us.

“It was so tough, it was so challenging. I have achieved my goal.”

Makau was 19 seconds outside Samuel Wanjiru’s 2007 world record of 58:33.

In her elite-packed race, Dire Tune set the third fastest women’s half-marathon time in history with 1:07:18. Her compatriot, Aselefech Mergia, crossed the line 30 seconds later, ahead of Japan-based Philes Ongori of Kenya, who clocked 1:07:50.

Tune, the world record-holder over one hour with 18.517km, was elated by her win. As she raced past the finish, she was quickly surrounded by cheering Ethiopian expatriates.

“There were very strong athletes today and I’m very happy,” she said. “This is my first time winning a half-marathon.”

Tune’s next stop is a 10km race in Puerto Rico next week in preparation for the Boston Marathon on April 20. A total of 1,681 runners have registered for that race.

Clare Constable, a regular runner in Dubai, praised the RAK event for raising awareness in the community: “It’s fabulous to have all the home support. It makes a change for me not to have to travel to Dubai for the races. It’s a brilliant atmosphere. I just hope people carry on. It’s been an inspiration.”

The RAK race is the world’s richest half-marathon, offering $413,000 in cash prizes. Participants were encouraged to run for charity or donate clothing to Aid in Motion, a Dubai-based project working in the East African Rift Valley.

Off land, dozens of boats took to the water at the Breakwater, Abu Dhabi Corniche for The Traditional Rowing Race yesterday afternoon. A start delayed by over an hour did not dampen the excitement as spectators stood along the Corniche to watch the drama unfold. The event was held under the patronage of Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister, and president of the Emirates Heritage Club.

* The National