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| Atlantic Medical Fun Walk to be held this Saturday |
Kelsie Johnson
Guardian Sports Reporter kelsie@nasguard.com
Published: Apr 20, 2012
It’s that time of year again when Bahamians take to the streets in an effort to bring awareness to chronic illnesses and diseases like diabetes and cancer. The 14th Annual Atlantic Medical Fun Walk will start at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday. Hundreds of Bahamians have confirmed their participation for the early morning event, where the proceeds will go to the Cancer Society of The Bahamas and the Bahamas Diabetic Association. Committee chairman Darren Bastian is certain that this year’s numbers will surpass those in the past. He said: “This being the 14th annual fun walk, we do expect a large crowd. Registration is going extremely well once again. Last year, we attracted just about 2,000 persons and we anticipate that our numbers will be very similar, or higher, than it was last time. The funds for this event go toward our two charities, Cancer Society of The Bahamas and the Bahamas Diabetic Association. Over the past years, I think that we have been able to donate to those two charities well over $200,000. We hope to kick that up a notch.” Two routes are mapped out - one for competitive walkers and another for those just participating for fun. The competitive trail is a six-mile walk, and will take walkers west on Shirley Street from the starting point Montagu Beach. Walkers will then go north on Church Street, up to the new Paradise Island Bridge as far as the golf course. From the golf course, walkers will go back over the old bridge, turning east on East Bay Street, and back to Montagu. Bastian called the shorter trail ‘an easy, breezy route’ where walkers will turn on to Church Street, head back on to East Bay Street, and finish at Montagu Beach. That will give the participants about three miles of walking distance. He said: “Obviously the walk is an important event, because when you look at diseases like diabetes and cancer, there are number of families who have been impacted by these two diseases, so all the money that we make from these events go to these two charities to fund and help aid their programs. Every year we have a number of sponsors that come on and assist so we can have a successful event. While we like the idea of having hundreds of walkers, we like to give back to everyone who actually participated in the event. They all have an opportunity to actually win prizes. “Some of those prizes will include a powerboat tour, weekend trips and lunches at some of the finer restaurants in New Providence. We also offer exercise bikes and other workout equipment. In essence, everyone has an opportunity to take home something on the day of the event.” Interested persons can register for the seven divisions for men and women. These include the under-15, 15-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59 and 60-and-over divisions.
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