CHENNAI: Normally, the roads inside IIT-Madras are described as calm, quiet and, on rare occasions, serene. Somehow, none of the adjectives seemed even remotely pertinent as the third edition of the Terry Fox Run Chennai - 2011, took flight on a cool and sun-free Sunday morning. After the run was flagged off by star couple Sarath Kumar and Radhikaa, albeit a little after the scheduled 8am start, the roads leading out of the Open Air Theatre in the heart of IIT-M were submerged in a sea of humanity in sweatshirts. “We were initially expecting around 5,000 runners, but when the announcement rang out that the registrations had crossed 7,500, it was just wonderful,” exclaimed the mother of Akash Dube, the 19-year-old who ideated the run three years ago in Chennai.Standing as a symbol for raising awareness that cancer prevention is better than working on a cure, the run drew participants from all walks of life; high schoolers and college-goers rubbed tracksuits with IT professionals, walkers who were making their Sunday morning memorable and even a few wizened old retired joggers. “Though the majority of the crowd were from the 18-30 age group, we registered over 200 senior citizens who were not just interested in walking for cancer awareness but were particular about making sizeable donations,” said a volunteer at the registration desk.As the pamphlets screamed that though it was called a run, a registrant could ‘run, walk, bicycle or roller-skate either the entire distance or even a part of the way’, hardly any of the participants were seen pushing themselves beyond their physical constraints. Richa, who recently migrated to the city for work and was running the TFRC for the first time, said she was “amazed by the spirit exhibited by the crowd” and admitted, “My friends and I walked most of the 6.4km but still it is an experience that we have never seen the likes of.”Most participants chose to jog or walk at least to the half-way mark before returning to pick up their certificates. Rather astonishingly, most of the elderly brigade outlasted their younger counterparts and made it back to the OAT after completing the entire course.This year, the numbers in the TFRC were not boosted merely by better publicity via social networking but also due to the participation of the Rotaract Clubs in Chennai, “We have brought 3,300 members from colleges and we are proud to say that we will continue supporting such ventures,” said the upbeat organising secretary of Rotoract.The fun, banter and sweat-streams did not end with the run, as smokers had the option of getting their CO (Carbon-Monoxide) level checked by a team from the Cancer Institute (WIA) through a breathalyser test. While the test results left quite a few youngsters shocked, all was well with the giant signature boards left for people to sign and doodle. Shashank, originally from VIT, said that running here had inspired him to sign up for schemes to help cancer survivors. Eventually, as the celebrations wrapped up, it was announced that the total tally was believed to be close to 12,000 runners and an amount of `20 lakh had been raised through donation-registrations.The few stragglers who determinedly puffed and panted their way into the OAT still had enough left in them to raise a tired cheer. This had been the biggest run for cancer that Chennai had seen yet and it was almost as if her people were trying to give her a big present on her birthday.
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