Thousands of Cubans run in 'Marathon of Hope'

File Photo: Thousands of people take part in the Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope. The marathon is ran every year in more that 50 countries in honour of Fox, a 18-year-old Canadian, who after having one leg amputated due to caner, covered 5565 km in 143 days to increase public awareness of the illness. (Getty Images)

Havana, March 31 (IANS): Thousands participated in the traditional “Marathon of Hope” here.

The Marathon of Hope pays tribute to young Canadian Terry Fox, who lost his right leg due to osteosarcoma. However, he ran with a prosthesis across Canada from coast-to-coast to collect funds and raise awareness on research against cancer, reports Xinhua.

The start signal was given by Radio Station Radio Reloj at 10 a.m. Saturday. The funds collected by the event will be donated in benefit of researches against cancer, the second leading cause of death in the country in 2012.

The Marathon of Hope is held every year since 1998.