Thousands saddle up for CHEO

CN Cycle for CHEO this Sunday

Thousands of people took a spin through the core today to raise money for the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario.

The 10th annual CN Cycle for CHEO saw a record number of participants sign up for the event. In ten years, the event has raised more than 7 million dollars for the children's hospital.

Wendy Alexander and Team Molly, in honour of 12-year-old Molly Robillard who died of cancer in 2014, have raised roughly $200,000 over that last decade.

"I just don't think you cannot do it," said Alexander, Molly's mom. "It's hard but we will look forward to it every year."

"Should would have done this for the rest of her life, just for the fun of it and to help CHEO," said Molly's sister, Tess.

The money raised goes to help CHEO purchase necessary equipment and to fund programs that help families and patients dealing with cancer. Kevin Keohane, the President and CEO of the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Foundation, said this event makes a world of differnece.

"It means everything to our oncology programs and to our ability to fund research," he said. "We put almost $1.5 million a year into our oncology research and this event helps to provide much of that funding."

The event features a 70 km, 35 km, 15 km cycle and 2 km and 5 km run/walks.

At each start, members of CHEO's Dream Team are there cheering people on.

"CHEO really helps all of us that have gone through cancer and it's nice to see that people are giving back," said cancer survivor Anthony Farinon.

"CHEO, it means everything," said 18-year-old Aman Sidhu, who was treated for hodgkin's lymphoma. "When I was there I was grateful for everything. They just made the day brighter."