On Oct. 18, University of Alberta students and faculty members, as well as members of the public, will be running or walking through Edmonton's Emily Murphy Park with one goal in mind: to offer medical assistance to the areas of the world that need it most.
Run Without Borders is an annual three-, five- and 10-kilometre fun run and walk in support of Médicins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders, an international organization dedicated to offering emergency medical aid and humanitarian relief to war-torn and disaster-stricken countries. Their volunteers are active in more than 70 countries around the world.
This is the fifth annual race to be organized through the Medical Students' Association. Thanks to sponsors and donations that support the administrative costs of the event, all funds raised will go directly to Doctors Without Borders.
"One of the major reasons I applied to medicine and went to medical school, actually, was in hopes of working with the organization," second-year medical student Duncan MacIver says of Doctors Without Borders. "I'm really passionate about the idea that medical aid should be available to all and I don't like the idea that by living in a certain country, some people have better access to care than other people."
MacIver is one of five student co-organizers of the event. He was also born with a rare heart condition called dysrhythmia, which causes occasional irregular patterns of heart beat. He says that, often, the only way to regulate the rhythm is a quick shock to the heart in a procedure known as cardio adversion. If it wasn't covered by the Canadian health care system, each shock would cost him thousands of dollars. "It's really instilled this gratefulness in me that I have this access but, at the same time, it really instilled this desire to give back," he says.
Scott Anderson, another co-organizer and second-year medical student, echoes MacIver's belief that medical care shouldn't be reserved for the wealthy. His decisions to become a physician were cemented in 2011 and 2012, when he completed two humanitarian tours in El Salvador. Although he did not provide any medical aid on the tour, he had the opportunity to watch some of the volunteer physicians at work and he was hooked. "After that, it was medicine or bust," he says. "Now that I'm in medicine, I feel like I can actually act out that desire and dream to be involved in [Doctors Without Borders]."
In preparation for the event, the Run Without Borders organizers are hosting a screening of the documentary Access the Danger Zone, a film that explores the challenges that Doctors Without Borders volunteers encounter while providing humanitarian relief in areas experiencing armed conflict. Held on Oct. 15 at 7 p.m., admission is by donation.
A running club has also been formed to prepare those who are interested in taking part on race day.
To learn more or to get involved, follow Edmonton Run Without Borders on Facebook.