A Richmond running club is organizing its first ever Movember fundraising event and has a very special guest lined up to help kick it off.
At around about 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 1, the Burkeville Run Crew will be jig-jogging its way past the “Silly Walk Zone,” along with Olympic bronze medalist Evan Dunfee, for whom the special stretch on Sea Island is named after.
Whether the crew will attempt their own version of Dunfee’s now famous medal-winning race walk in Tokyo remains to be seen.
But it’s sure to be a lot of fun, given that Dunfee is reportedly already sporting some growth between his mouth and nose in honour of the annual fundraising and men’s cancer awareness month.
Event organizer and Burkeville Run Crew founder Tamás Revoczi said his small club is hoping to boost its numbers for the evening and get a few locals out for the fundraising run.
“I met through another running club, the Ice Cream and Donuts Run Club in Vancouver, and I just asked him if he’d like to come help us kick the event off,” said Revoczi, himself a cancer survivor, who’s running in honour of his father, who was “not so lucky” with the disease.
“Our runs are usually between 5 and 8K, but we cater towards the level of people that show up.”
Revoczi said the event on Monday will be a short “social walk/run” to raise a few dollars and draw awareness to Movember.
“I’ve only just started growing (my moustache). Maybe I should have gotten a head start like Evan.”
Revoczi revealed that, as well as being a cancer survivor, he has struggled with mental health since his teenage years and only found the light, so to speak, after adopting a health and fitness regime about eight years ago, which included running half-marathons, followed by full marathons and even a 50K ultramarathon before turning 51.
“After recent tragic events hitting very close to home, I'd like to open my mind, heart and mouth to inspire others to join me in fighting ‘emotional politeness’ and ‘silent suffering’ in any way I can,” wrote Revoczi.
“I strongly believe that, when you feel like (crap), sometimes it's as simple as going for a run or even just a walk. I hope I can inspire you to join me.”
To join Revoczi, his Burkeville crew and Dunfee on Monday, go to his Facebook events page at https://fb.me/e/24HvnT5DG
To donate, go to https://ca.movember.com/events/view/id/AzbZ
