Despite the cold and intermittent showers, the run attracted some 3,000 people from home and abroad, including healthcare workers, members of anti-cancer clubs, corporate employers and enrolled students. One of the foreign participants even brought a life-sized, eye-catching plastic model of Terry Fox to the run.

Rohan Bhargava, an 8-year-old boy from Beijing International School participated in the run with his parents and younger sister.

"We are from New Jersey, the United States, and have lived in Beijing for two years," he told Beijing Review. "We knew of this event from school, and we'd like to help those people who have cancer. My classmates also came here to support the run."

Wan Yuanqing, 72 years old and a participant in all of previous runs, told Beijing Review that she started a blog recently for cancer sufferers and survivors.

"I have survived stomach cancer for 12 years, and my son-in-law is a blood cancer sufferer," she said. "I totally understand the feelings of newly confirmed cancer patients. Last year, I opened a blog at sina.com to provide and exchange anti-cancer information I collected from books, magazines, newspapers and my own experiences. Till now, the total hits on my blog have reached 4,000, and I'd like to use every opportunity, such as the Terry Fox Run, to spread anti-cancer knowledge.

"I believe that, the more cancer knowledge you know, the less you'll fear it, and then you become stronger to fight against it."

Besides the run, a live music show, a health seminar to educate the public on how to prevent cancer, and a charity sale, were also held.

As the largest single-day cancer fundraiser in the world, the Terry Fox Run, also known as the Marathon of Hope, is an annual non-competitive charity event held across the world in commemoration of Terry Fox, a Canadian bone cancer patient who ran 5,373 km across Canada in 143 days in 1980, to raise money for cancer research.

Since its inception in 1981, the Run has raised over CA$340 million. It is held in 52 countries and over 4,133 communities, and over 2.5 million people worldwide are estimated to have participated so far.

The first Beijing Terry Fox Run was held in September 1999. Thereafter, the CIH, which also incorporates the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College (CAMS & PUMC), became the initiator and consistent organizer of the Run in cooperation with the Canadian Embassy of Beijing.

"So far, more than 200,000 people have taken part in this event," said Zhao Ping, President of CIH. "More than 4.7 million yuan (approximately $618,000) has been used for ongoing cancer research in China: for instance, cervical cancer research in the poor and remote areas of Shanxi Province, the Taihang Anti-cancer Project which covers a population of over 600,000, epidemiologic research on malignant tumors in the Tibet Autonomous Region, etc.

"This serious endeavor will continue as best as we can. The Terry Fox Run is open to everyone, since participation is considered more important than completing the set distance."