Photo: Josh Dawson

Participants gather at Riverside Park prior to the run.

The 2023 Kamloops CIBC Run for the Cure saw nearly 300 participants this year, raising more than $44,000 for breast cancer research, organizers say.

Participants were given the choice between a five-kilometre or one-kilometre run at Riverside Park on Sunday morning for the 10 a.m. run.

Ben Schmidt, run director, said it was his first time co-ordinating the event and he was happy to see the large turnout.

“I was hoping for maybe 200, and it really blew up this year,” said Schmidt.

“I’m pretty proud of Kamloops and everybody that came through and my committee and all of our sponsors. It was a great event and we've been smiling all afternoon.”

Schmidt blew past his fundraising goal of $33,000 for this year’s event, also surpassing the $28,000 raised last year.

Schmidt said the event is meant to support both those suffering from breast cancer and those affected by a diagnosis.

“It's always somebody's sister, somebody's mom, somebody's aunt — and for me, it's my sister,” said Schmidt.

“It's the person with cancer and it's also the family that has to deal with it. Knowing that there's other people going through it as well just allows everybody to feed off each other's positive energy.”

Yvonne Lebedoff, a three-time cancer survivor who attended the event, said she was impressed with the diversity of participants.

“It was very impressive, the amount of even young people that came and some older,” said Lebedoff.

“The impressive part was the men that took the time to show up, lot of young teenage boys showing up in the field, some in their early 20s.”

Funds raised will help people access transportation for their treatments and to buy wigs and prosthetics.