Run, daddy, run
1,000 pop in for Father's Day race
By MATTHEW KWONG, TORONTO SUN
AS YOUNG boys, the Jacob brothers grew up competing against one another.
Yesterday, on Father's Day, the men raced again, but this time it was to support their dad at the fifth annual Father's Day Run for prostate cancer research.
"When they were four years old, we would throw them in the swimming pool and watch them race," said 57-year-old Jose Jacob, as he pointed proudly at three of his sons. "It's great to see us here today as a family -- doing this together."
PROSTATE CANCER FUNDRAISER
Brothers Luis, Giancarlo (who finished second in the 5-km race) and Miguel
(who finished first) ran in support of their father at the Sunnyside Beach
fundraiser.
Nearly 1,000 people participated in the race, which raised more than $140,000 toward finding a cure for prostate cancer.
Every year doctors diagnose about 20,500 Canadian men with the disease.
Health Minister George Smitherman fired the opening shot to start the race at 10 a.m.
Matias Galarce, 36, ran the full 10 km pushing a stroller occupied by his sleepy-eyed triplets, 14-month-old Benjamin, Victoria and Sofia. "I pushed hard, but for them it was nap time," Galarce said.
John Blanchard, president and CEO of the event, stressed the importance of early detection of prostate cancer and urged family members to push the men in their lives to get checked.
Three months of training also brought the father-daughter team of Bud Funnell and Christine Ward across the finish line. Ward had made a deal with her dad, a 62-year-old cancer survivor, that she would step up her training to run if he started walking.
Other Father's Day events included the Mount Sinai Hospital Walk/Run for The
Best Medicine and a 10-km Zareinu Move-a-thon, which raised money for
special-needs kids.
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