Inaugural Scotiabank Group Charity Challenge raises $200,000 for six
    local healthcare related charities

    VANCOUVER, June 24 /CNW/ - With a record 4,700 competitors, the
Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon & 5k concluded with Patrick Nthiwa of Kenya
setting a new course record of 1:03:10. The top woman was fellow Kenyan
Magdalene Mukunzi with a time of 1:14:02. Participants also raised a record
amount of funds in the inaugural Scotiabank Group Charity Challenge, with all
proceeds going to six local healthcare related charities.
    In the men's half-marathon, Nthiwa hung back through the first 14k, then
ran hard through driving rain to beat the previous course record by one
second. Toronto's Danny Kassap had a very strong run, placing second with a
personal best of 1:04:03. Joshua Kemei, also of Kenya, placed third with a
time of 1:05:47. The top B.C. finisher was Steve Osaduik of Nanaimo who placed
fifth in 1:06:27.
    On the women's side, Mukunzi started off easy and then put the hammer
down at the 10k mark to score a decisive win. Calgary's Lisa Harvey was second
at 1:15:45 and Lioudmila Kortchaguina, Canada's No.1 ranked women's marathoner
and the women's SVHM winner in 2005, 2004, 2003 and 2002 placed third with a
time of 1:17:11. The top B.C. finisher was Jane Cullis of Vancouver who placed
seventh in 1:21:49.Half-Marathon Male
    ------------------
    1. Patrick Nthiwa           1:03:10
    2. Danny Kassap             1:04:03
    3. Joshua Kemei             1:05:47

    Half-Marathon Female
    --------------------
    1. Magdalene Mukunzi        1:14:02
    2. Lisa Harvey              1:15:45
    3. Lioudmila Kortchaguina   1:17:11The Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon & 5k is part of the prestigious
Canada Running Series. Growing in annual popularity, it is also a highly
successful fundraising event, and expanded to a charity challenge format this
year to benefit six local healthcare related charities: VGH & UBC Hospital
Foundation; The Arthritis Society, B.C. & Yukon Division; BC Children's
Hospital Foundation; The Heart and Stroke Foundation of B.C. & Yukon; Rick
Hansen Foundation and St. Paul's Hospital Foundation. While donations are
still being tallied, the first Scotiabank Group Charity Challenge has to date
raised $200,000.
    In a new development this year, Scotiabank paid the entry fee of 5k
participants who raised a minimum of $50 and of half-marathoners who raised a
minimum of $100 in pledges for one of the six charitable partners.
    In addition to funds being raised by runners, Scotiabank will award
$5,000 to the charity that raises the most money, $5,000 to the charity with
the largest number of dollars raised per runner and $5,000 to the charity with
the most runners participating (with a minimum of $10 raised per runner). The
Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon & 5k has now raised more than $730,000 in
its nine-year history.
    The award ceremony kicked off with the top individual fundraising award,
the Scotiabank Group Charity Challenge Award, and the $2,000 prize being
presented to Vancouver's David Porte. Porte's 18-month-old daughter was
recently diagnosed with juvenile arthritis, a painful auto-immune disease that
affects one in 1,000 children, making it one of the most common chronic
childhood diseases. Determined to do what he could to help his daughter and
the hundreds of children with arthritis in B.C., Porte signed up for the 5k
and raised $36,000 for The Arthritis Society, B.C. & Yukon Division.
    Rounding out the top three individual fundraisers were Tirth Kular and
Diane McLean. Kular's charity of choice was the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation
and she raised $10,000 in support of the Dr. Patty Clugston Chair in Breast
Reconstruction Surgery. The late Dr. Patty Clugston, a talented pioneering
plastic surgeon, founded the Breast Reconstruction Program at UBC Hospital 11
years ago. The program enables women who are undergoing a mastectomy to also
have immediate breast reconstruction surgery. Kular, a Personal Banking
Manager at Scotiabank's King George and 102 branch, has raised almost $30,000
for the foundation over the past three events. McLean raised $1,658 for BC
Children's Hospital Foundation.
    For complete race results, please visit
http://www.canadarunningseries.com/svhm.

    Scotiabank is committed to supporting the communities in which we live
and work, both in Canada and abroad. Recognized as a leader internationally
and among Canadian corporations for its charitable donations and philanthropic
activities, in 2006 the Bank provided more than $42 million in sponsorships
and donations to a variety of projects and initiatives, primarily in the areas
of healthcare, education and social services. Scotiabank is on the World Wide
Web at www.scotiabank.com.

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