A story of hope, courage, and strength. Chantal Haigh, a cancer survivor and mother of two, is making moves (337 km to be exact) by running from Montreal to Quebec to raise money for the Relay for Life Canadian Cancer Society foundation.
Haigh is looking to reach a goal of $20,000 to support cancer research. Being a cancer survivor herself, she has always wanted to combine her passions for running and fundraising. While planning her run, Haigh learned about Jasmine, an eight-year-old girl from Greenfield Park who is suffering from brain cancer. This story touched Haigh and further encouraged her to raise awareness of the illness and to make a change for people like Jasmine.
We got a chance to talk to Chantal to learn a little more about the event that is taking place on Thursday, May 20th:
What is the fundraiser for?
The fundraiser is for the Canadian Cancer Society (Relay for Life), which is something that I have participated in for the last 12 years. I myself am a cancer survivor and I try to raise money each year for the cause. My idea to run from Montréal to Québec came from being a marathon runner for many years. One day I thought to myself, “I should put both of my passions together to raise money...Two passions being fundraising and running”. Due to the pandemic, I am unable to do international marathons, so I decided to do it here, Montréal to Québec, or as I refer it to as M2Q 4 A CURE.
Can you tell us a little bit about Jasmine's story?
Jasmine is an eight-year-old girl with brain cancer. She was both diagnosed and operated on in August 2020. Her family consists of father Jay (a recent cancer survivor), mother Julie, and sister Jade. Jasmine is hopefully heading into her last chemo treatments on Thursday, May 20th… Which, ironically, is the same day I leave for my run.
How have you been preparing?
I’ve been training for this event by running 16-40km a day since January. The run takes place on Thursday, May 20th and I hope to finish at the Chateau Frontenac by Monday, May 24th.
People can donate through my GoFundMe page. The deadline to donate for the cause is June 5th, 2021.