Why We Relay

The Banff Jasper Relay has historically been a dedicated fundraise for the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada (Over $47,00 was fundraised in 2024 alone!).   
 
Garth Huck and David O’Brien were avid runners and a big part of the relay … and both lost their battles to brain tumours. The founders of the Banff Jasper Relay, as well as their friends and family, have personally been affected by the tragedy of brain tumours, which is why we feel especially passionate about our efforts to raise funds for brain tumour research. Read more on our story in an article published by the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada during an interview with our our past Race Director, Chelsea Medcalfe.

The Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada is a national, not-for-profit organization dedicated to reaching every person in Canada affected by a brain tumour with support, education and information, and to funding brain tumour research.  Every year, we help thousands of Canadians affected by brain tumours find emotional support and comfort while gaining a better understanding and knowledge of their disease.

Brain tumours are unpredictable and complex. The disease does not discriminate and affects people of all ages and backgrounds. A brain tumour can impact vision, hearing, memory, balance and mobility. And the effects are physical, emotional, financial, and last a lifetime. Lifting this burden for anyone affected is the goal of Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada. With 55,000 Canadians living with the disease, families across the country depend on this unique organization to address patients’ quality of life needs while also funding the research necessary to find the ever-elusive cure.

Read the write-up in the Edmonton Journal on the revival of the Banff Jasper Relay and how the first race in 2005 was dedicated to Garth. In 2013, David wrote an article in the National Post on the importance of marathons in his life after a cancer diagnosis.