HOPE AMBASSADOR: Zhang Lixin (left) receives the 12th Beijing Hope Run ambassador trophy and certificate from Luo Xiao, vice director of Chaoyang District Health Bureau, at the press conference in Beijing on August 4 (CHEN RAN)

The 12th Beijing Hope Run will take place in Chaoyang Park on Saturday, September 18.

This year's run will start at 8:30 a.m. in the Open Air Theatre Square and end about 11:30 a.m. It will cover a distance of approximately 8 km; this year's theme is "The Journey of Hope Always With Love."

The principal organizer of the run is the Cancer Institute and Hospital (CIH) of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. The Embassy of Canada in Beijing, the China Cancer Foundation, the International Red Cross (Beijing Branch) and the Chaoyang District Health Bureau are the main coordinators.

Zhang Lixin, 27, a wheelchair racer who won four gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, is the Hope Ambassador for this year's run.

"I'm honored to be the 'Hope Ambassador' for the third consecutive year," Zhang, a former osteoma patient, told Beijing Review. "I'll be happy if my participation helps enhance people's awareness about fighting against cancer and encourages cancer sufferers to move on."

A charity project called "Health Theme Park" will be held in conjunction with the run, and provide cancer prevention information through lectures, brochures and boards.

The Beijing Hope Run originates in the Terry Fox Run, the largest single-day cancer fundraiser in the world, in memory of Terry Fox, a Canadian bone cancer patient who ran 5,373 km across Canada in 143 days in 1980 to raise funds for cancer research. The CIH has been the principal organizer of the Beijing Hope Run in collaboration with Canada's Embassy in China since it was first held in September 1999.

"The concept of 'caring for health' has been widely adopted by the public in Beijing, as the run continues," CIH President Zhao Ping said.

More than 200,000 people have taken part in the run, Zhao said. The event has raised more than 5 million yuan (approximately $733,000) for ongoing cancer research in China. Areas of research include cervical cancer in poor and remote areas of Shanxi Province, the Taihang Anti-Cancer Project which covers a population of more than 600,000, and epidemiological research on malignant tumors in Tibet Autonomous Region.

A fund for impoverished cancer patients identified by an "early diagnosis, early cure" project sponsored by the Ministry of Health will also be launched at this year's run.

Registration for the run is 20 yuan (about $3) for each participant, all of which will be donated to the China Cancer Foundation.

"The run is open to everyone, since participation is considered more important than completing the set distance," said Zhao. "Participants can show their support for the anti-cancer campaign by running or walking."

For more information, please contact CIH at 010-8778 7208 or 010-6771 8863.