Runners and walkers of all ages showed up for the 23rd Scotiabank Women Against Breast Cancer 5k, its first in-person race since the COVID-19 pandemic, on Saturday at the Queen's Park Savannah in Port-of-Spain.
Some 5,000 registered participants came out to support the cause which affects many individuals in our day-to-day life. The race was said to be sold out within one week, prior to the race day.
“Clearly, people missed it because we were sold out a week ago. We have 5,000 registrants, including 500 males,” said the general manager of the Scotiabank Foundation, Cindy Mohammed.
She was pleased by the turnout, which included men for the first time and also appreciated the support given to persons who are affected by this disease as the bank continues to evolve the SWABC 5K experience, at the same time saluting those who are battling cancer or who have survived.
“We have 5,000 registrants, including 500 males. For the first time, we opened up the event to males because we realized everybody is touched by cancer in some form or fashion. So people are running for their mom, for their sister, for their brother, for their uncle, for their dad. And we really appreciate the support of everyone who's come out and supported the event today,” said Mohammed.
This year’s beneficiary T&T Cancer Society received a $250,000 donation to aid in screenings throughout T&T. Scotiabank’s continued partnership with the Cancer Society, to date, over 21,000 women have benefited from these services.
The general manager said, “The beneficiary of the event this year is the T&T Cancer Society. A $250,000 donation is being made to the Cancer Society today. And that is going to facilitate screening in communities throughout Trinidad and Tobago so people learn the importance of getting screened early and of course, are able to detect if they have cancer earlier on so they can go on to lead fulfilling lives.”
At the end of the race, with a time of 20.01, Samantha Shukla was the top female, along with Aniqah Bailey in second with a time of 21.06, and 10-year-old Chennai Moore in 3rd with a time of 21.55. Guswil George was the fastest male with a time of 18.37.
The largest corporate team was given to Sagicor and the largest school was St Augustine Girls High School.
Following the finish lines, the participants were greeted with entertainment from Tassa, pannist Joshua Regrello, and soca artiste Hey Choppi.
This year, the SWABC 5K had some new sponsors including Dasani, the official water sponsor.
Age category winners:
19 and under: Zariah Pascal (26.22)
20-29: Sarah Guillen (24.13)
30-39: Sjaelan Evans (24.40)
40-49: Natasha Kelshall Pantin (25.33)
50-59: Shardie Mahabir (22.50)
Over 60: Joanne Esdale (35.27)