Runners kick off Rural Medicine fundraiser on Heather Road. Photos 250News

Prince George, B.C. – Over 165 marathoners set out in the sunshine from the Hart Community Centre this morning on the annual Run for Rural Medicine.

The run is organized by the second-year UNBC medical students, with the Prince George Road Runners Club acting in a supervisory capacity.  It’s a fundraiser, with the money raised each year going to a local charitable organization selected by the students.

PG Road Runners President Dennis Balogh says “we’ve had the event for a long time, for 15 years, and they kind of tacked on to use it as a fundraiser.  So we run the race itself, they run the fundraising.”

Second year student in the Northern Medical Program, Alice Graham, says the money raised this year “is going to the Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation, so that means the money we raise through registration and donations, and also the socks that we’re selling.”

She explains “the socks were ordered by a student last year and they were just made to give people a momento for the run.  They’re inscribed with “UBC Medicine” and “Run for Rural Medicine”.  “People have the option to buy them online with their (run) registration and pick them up on race day, or you can just pay for them.  They are by donation, but we’re asking for $10, or more, for the socks.”

Graham says this is the 10^th year for the med student involvement in the run, which used to be known as the Half Run.  109 participants pre-registered with another 56 signing up today for a total of 165 runners.  The pre-registration fee was $10, bumped to $15 for registering today.  The runners had their choice of running 5 km, 10 km or 21.1 km.

As well, future marathoners were invited to take part in a free kids fun run which was held prior to the start of the main event.