Pal's illness sets four friends on rickshaw relay
BEFORE he discovered he had cancer, Paul Terry used to run in marathons. Today, his friends are running one just for him.
This morning, four of them are battling aching muscles and fatigue, as they strain to complete a 24-hour rickshaw relay marathon on The Peak.
Ben Richardson, David Blair, Chris Kong and Neil Laubach hope to have covered 100 kilometres by the time they finish their run at noon.
And they also hope to have raised $400,000 for the Hong Kong Cancer Fund.
Speaking as the relay got under way yesterday afternoon, fund chairwoman Sophia Lo said the shocking news of Mr Terry's illness prompted his friends to organise the fund-raising event.
''Paul's diagnosis was so unexpected, and this is a very aggressive form of cancer, so his friends wanted to do something to support him.'' She described Mr Terry, 38, a former sports co-ordinator for the police department, as a ''fitness freak''.
Three months ago a routine hospital check-up following a minor road accident revealed he was suffering from the disease.
''He has an amazingly positive attitude,'' Ms Lo said. ''I think that is what will get him through.'' Mr Terry is now in England receiving treatment.
Mr Blair, 25, is also the rickshaw's owner - for the last 18 months it has been parked in his garage.
''A lot of people think I'm kind of eccentric,'' he said.
''I was thinking, 'what can I do with this rickshaw?' Then, when my friend got cancer, it seemed like the natural thing to do was to use it to raise money.'' Ms Lo said 58,000 people in Hong Kong were hospitalised with cancer every year.
