CIBC First Caribbean “Walk for the Cure” 5K/10K Run/Walk is set to race off on Oc­to­ber 21 at the Queen’s Park Sa­van­nah in Port-of-Spain.

The char­i­ty fundrais­ing road race was launched at the Board Room of CIBC First Caribbean on Long Cir­cu­lar Road in Mar­aval, on Wednes­day.

An­tho­ny Seer­aj, man­ag­ing di­rec­tor of CIBC First­Caribbean Trinidad Op­er­at­ing Com­pa­ny, gave the fea­ture ad­dress at the launch and con­firmed that the bank will con­tin­ue to sup­port the T&T Can­cer So­ci­ety in every way pos­si­ble.

“All funds will be do­nat­ed to as­sist with the pur­chase and main­te­nance of equip­ment used in the di­ag­no­sis and treat­ment of pa­tients. The funds are al­so used to pro­vide as­sis­tance, care and coun­selling to pa­tients and their fam­i­lies as well as to raise aware­ness through ed­u­ca­tion cam­paigns,” said Seer­aj, who added that “Walk for the Cure” is a fundrais­ing ef­fort by all CIBC First­Caribbean 12 mar­kets in the re­gion.

“The walk be­gan in 2012 as part of the cel­e­bra­tions to mark the bank’s tenth an­niver­sary. It is usu­al­ly held around the same time as the bank’s Cana­di­an par­ent com­pa­ny, CIBC’s Run for the Cure. Now it has be­come an ac­tiv­i­ty that CIBC First­Caribbean em­ploy­ees, friends and fam­i­lies, and the pub­lic look for­ward to every year. So much so that since we post­ed the reg­is­tra­tion link on­line ear­li­er this month, there has been a steady stream. And for that we are grate­ful.

Cash prizes for the first to third places over­all will be pre­sent­ed as well as for var­i­ous age cat­e­gories. Fin­ish­ers will col­lect medals and bags and there will al­so be fun prizes and give­aways.

“In Trinidad, what start­ed as a fun event as a walk around the Queen’s Park Sa­van­nah, has in­cor­po­rat­ed a more ‘se­ri­ous’ event for those who want a faster pace—the 5K, which start­ed in 2019. Now for those who pre­fer a longer dis­tance—and with speed, we have in­tro­duced a new event—the 10K race.

“Re­gard­less of move­ment—walk or run—the ob­jec­tive of these events is to raise funds to sup­port the T&T Can­cer So­ci­ety’s fight against prostate can­cer,” said Seer­aj.

“The bank will con­tin­ue to sup­port the T&T Can­cer So­ci­ety in every way pos­si­ble. We look for­ward to see­ing many walk­ers and run­ners at our two events. Last year, Nicholas Ro­many crossed the fin­ish line with a per­son­al best, un­der 15 min­utes. Let’s see what hap­pens this year!”

The 10K course starts in front of TGIF at the Queen’s Park Sa­van­nah South and leads in­to Low­er Mar­aval, the run­ners will make a turn in­to Rook­ery Nook af­ter pass­ing Roy­al Bank and re-en­ter Long Cir­cu­lar Road straight down in­to St James. Turn­ing left on­to West­ern Main Road and left again in­to Ser­pen­tine Road, which has to be fol­lowed all the way up to Wild­flower Park to turn right and head south on Eliz­a­beth Street un­til turn­ing left in­to Hayes Street and left again to head north on Mary Street, make a quick run around Jack­son Square to con­tin­ue on Mary Street up to Ser­pen­tine Street and hang a left to loop around Wild­flower Park to Pra­da Street to re­turn back to the Sa­van­nah north of Wild­flower Park to then start their Vic­to­ry Lap around the Sa­van­nah and fin­ish at the Pad­dock op­po­site TGIF.

The 5K car­ries the run­ners from the front of TGIF at the Queen’s Park Sa­van­nah South in­to Mar­aval up to Rapsey Street, where they will hang a left and fol­low the street to Wain­wright Street to make an­oth­er left down to Pra­da Street to re­turn back to the Sa­van­nah north of Wild­flower Park to then start their Vic­to­ry Lap around the Sa­van­nah and fin­ish at the Pad­dock op­po­site TGIF.

Reg­is­tra­tion can be done on­line via Evo­lu­tion Tim­ing at Evo­lu­tion­tim­ing.net or at the bank’s Mar­aval and Ch­agua­nas. The dead­line is Oc­to­ber 8. Par­tic­i­pants will re­ceive a free t-shirt with each reg­is­tra­tion.

“Walk for the Cure aligns with the bank’s cor­po­rate so­cial re­spon­si­bil­i­ty dri­ve and we sup­port all ef­forts to raise the pub­lic’s aware­ness of all types of can­cer, in­clud­ing ear­ly de­tec­tion, treat­ment and the ur­gent need for a per­ma­nent cure.

As it re­lates to men’s health, we know what hap­pens here. We need men to stay healthy. So please get checked,” ad­vised the man­ag­ing di­rec­tor.