PEP-UP TALK: Guy Saint-Jacques, Canadian Ambassador to China, addresses the 14th Beijing Hope Run on November 3 (CHEN RAN)

People of different walks of life participated in the 14th Beijing Hope Run at 9:00 a.m. in Chaoyang Park on November 3.

The principal organizers of the run are the Cancer Institute and Hospital (CIH) of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and the China Cancer Foundation. The Canadian Embassy and the Chaoyang District Health Bureau are the main coordinators.

Zhou Tao, China Central Television Station anchor, hosted the fund-raising ceremony before the run started as the event's Hope Ambassador. More than 3,000 participants completed the run, with world champion gymnasts Chen Yibing and Dong Dong leading the pack.

Charles Joscelyne is a teacher at Beijing National Day School from Utah, the United States. "I've lived in Beijing for three years and this is the first time I'll participate in the event," he said. "I think it's fun and I will lead my students during the run."

"This is my second consecutive run, and I think it's meaningful to show up," said Song Junhong, a sophomore majoring in food science at China Agricultural University. "I will keep participating in the event whenever I am available."

According to He Jie, President of the CIH, some 260,000 people have participated in the event since 1999, and over 10 million yuan ($1.4 million) has been raised for cancer research and treatment in China. In 2011 alone, 2.67 million yuan ($410,000) in donations funded 44 programs. Moreover, 51 cancer patients from unprivileged families in central China received free treatment under an early diagnosis and early treatment program.

The Beijing Hope Run was inspired by the Terry Fox Run, the largest single-day cancer fundraiser in the world. The event commemorates Terry Fox, a Canadian bone cancer patient who ran 5,373 km across Canada in 143 days to raise funds for cancer research in 1980.