Jamaica College student Evans Tetteh, an African native, copped the champion title from approximately 16,000 entrants in the annual Jamaica Reach 2 Recovery (JR2R) Pink Run event, which started and ended with a route from Emancipation Park on Sunday (November 16).

This is the first victory for Tetteh in the Pink Run event, an accomplishment he said he meditated about achieving days before, especially following its postponement in the wake of Hurricane Melissa by two weeks.

“My mindset was to do at least within 15 minutes, so I give thanks and praise to God,” Tetteh, a grade 11 student from Jamaica College, told Our Today during an interview immediately after his victory.

He was also the winner of the fifth staging of the MBJ Team Sangster Charity Run/Walk, which was held in Montego Bay on September 7.

Crossing the finishing line first in the female category was Cécile Heinrich, a French national now living in Jamaica, who entered the race with a team from Pink Apron.

“It feels good being the winner today. I think everyone was a winner today. As long as you woke up and got on that start line, you showed up for cancer awareness,” Heinrich, who has been living in Jamaica for one year, told Our Today.

She said she has been enjoying her time here in Jamaica, and believes the island has a grand potential to rebuild, and liked the fact that the organisers asked patrons to bring relief supplies to give back to persons who are in need.

“I’m 100 per cent certain that you will rebuild. At least as beautiful as they were,” she said.

For J2R2 president Sandra Samuels, it was a morning well-spent and one she was extremely thankful about, given that the weather conditions, this time around, were favourable for running and walking.

“The Pink Run was off the chain! We give God thanks for a beautiful day. Even, post-Melissa, we were worried that we would not have been able to have it, but as God would have it, it was a successful run. We have passed our target of 15,000. We are almost at 16,000. We surpassed our financial goal of $25 million. We are now at J$28 million and counting, so we will be sharing in the west, starting with Montego Bay, St. Elizabeth and Westmoreland, because their [breast cancer awareness] events were cancelled,” Samuels said.

For his part, Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton lamented that breast cancer remains one of the top four causes of death for Jamaican women. It is estimated that one in 21 Jamaican women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. 

According to the Global Cancer Observatory, Jamaica recorded 1,327 new cases of breast cancer in 2022, which represented 35 per cent of all cancers. Approximately 684 women died from breast cancer during that period, representing a 9.8 per cent increase over the previous year.

According to reports from the Kingston Public Hospital in the capital city, approximately 60 per cent of women presenting with breast cancer were between the ages of 25 and 59 years.

“Everyone knows someone with breast cancer or of an experience with breast cancer. It’s all about early detection and public education, and Pink Run really brings greater awareness, while raising funds, while promoting some good exercise,” Tufton said after he walked the 5K distance.

“Cancer is an increasing disease in the population, and one of the fastest rates of growth among diseases, so we have to do more about the awareness. We have to try our best to prevent, to diet, to exercise, but also early detection can impact so it doesn’t lead to fatality,” he said.