Over 5,000 people took part in this year's Terry Fox Run, a charity event aimed at raising public awareness and funds for cancer research, which took place at Zagreb's sports and recreation centre at Lake Jarun on Sunday.
The money raised will be donated to the Clinic for Children's Diseases in Zagreb for the purchase of two non-invasive pain monitoring devices and to the Rudjer Boskovic Institute for the purchase of necessary chemicals and equipment for molecular cancer research.
The race was organised by the Canadian Embassy and the Croatian League Against Cancer.
Canadian Ambassador Edwin Loughlin thanked the sponsors, particularly Croatian President Ivo Josipovic and Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor, whose envoy, Science and Education Minister Radovan Fuchs, signalled the start of the race.
Our joint success will assist the Croatian health system to help children suffering from cancer more effectively. With our assistance, researchers may find new medicines and better medical treatments. All 100 per cent of the proceeds will remain in Croatia, Loughlin said.
Minister Fuchs said that "we can be proud that Croatia has been organising the race" for twelve years, adding that "we all need unity in fighting malignant diseases."
The race, also known as the Marathon of Hope, is named in honour of Canadian amputee runner Terry Fox who at 21 attempted to run across Canada in 1980 to raise money for cancer research. The race is currently organised in 67 countries round the world, including Croatia.
