Wherever I go, there I am!!...

I am still in Vancouver, Canada and in full event mode with my work adventure which has kicked off with a bang and to date I have been to Ottawa, Toronto and Calgary. For those of you not aware of what I am doing, here is a quick run down...

I am working for an events company as part of their organising team on behalf of the Breast Cancer Foundation. We help choreograph their 8 charity events that they hold all over canada every year. We are organising events such as a 250km bike ride from Toronto-Niagra Falls, 60km walks in the bush land over 2days with camping overnight, 10km runs, with participants dressed only in their underwear and 2.5km or 5km walk for children under 15years old. The aim is to get the community involved and to bring more awareness and attention to not only Breast Cancer Research but to all Cancers in general which is so universal and affects so many.

Our schedule is pretty much we arrive in each city 1 week before the event begins, which happens over 2 days on the weekend. We work with the local staff and crew to run the event and make it happen. The local staff in the office of each city look after the Beneficiaries and participants, while we come in and run the events, bascially we are the legs. So we have a big job to do when we arrive in each city and it is pretty much go, go, go from the time we land until we leave. It's a great event to be a part of, and as I have a personal touch to this having had siblings affected by this horrible disease, it gives me great job satisfaction and a sense of achievement. I feel lucky to be involved.

The events are called Weekend to End Breast Cancer, Ride to Conquer Cancer and Uncover the Cure for Cancer. The Weekend to End Breast Cancer are the 60km walks over 2 days, The Ride was the first time ever 250km bike ride over 2 days and the Uncover the Cure is the 10kms run or 5km walks in your fashionable underwear. This year a new event was introduced called Kids K which encourages children under 15 to raise $50 to take part in either a 2.5km or 5km walk. It is a great idea to get children involved, not only to get them exercising but also introduce to them a different world and open their eyes to charities and fundraises.



The events consist of participants checking in typically on the Friday the day before the event, where all information about the event is explained and shown to them on a video. The event then officialy begins on Saturday morning at 7am with an opening ceremony welcoming all the participants, they then walk 15kms (with various stops along the way) stopping for lunch in a park or school then walk another 15kms finishing up at a Camp set up where they stay overnight in tents with sleeping bags. At camp, we organise fashion shows, bra contests and a bit of a disco or band to boogie. The next morning on Sunday at 7am, the walk begins again with a finish at either the same starting point or different location. A closing ceremony is performed celebrating the achievement of the walkers and special celebration for the cancer survivors, in particular Breast Cancer victims telling of their triumphant stories or courage and survival.

The work load is crazy and as we are in full event mode, it means a lot of travelling on my part at the moment.. As I mentioned earlier, I have been to Ottawa, Toronto and Calgary so far with, Halifax, Edmonton, Montreal to come and then finally back to Vancouver in September.. Its been great travelling and seeing the country and the events have gone well, with the highlight being the 250km bike ride over 2 days from Toronto-Niagra Falls.. Niagra Falls was superb and it was a great sight to see 3,000 riders come into Niagra. The event also brought a very inspirational girl who was an amputee and rode 150km one legged without the aid of her prosthetic leg on her tricyle.. it was amazing to witness. The Ottawa event brought the Prime Minister's wife out walking for the first time which was a huge bonus for the Foundation. She was unlike anyone else, she walked, she camped overnight in a tent and had lunch with the rest of the participants. It was a great thing and she was very emotional at the end of the event. The Toronto event brough us the inspirational girl I wrote abou earlier and also a great sense of togetherness as a result. For the participants, it put everything in perspective thinking if a young girl with one leg can do this humungous ride, then I can do it too. Calgary brought us a sad story of a tragic loss of the sister of the CEO of the Foundation due to Breast Cancer. It was emotional and brought it all home again that more research needs to be done to get rid of this disease.

So now onto Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal and finally Vancouver.. I am sure more inspirational and unique stories will unfold throughout the rest of my journey so stay tuned..

Check out pics in my albums..