The Ottawa Race Weekend, May 23-24 this year, is an annual two-day running event made up of multiple races. All the races start and end at Ottawa City Hall. There are 2K, 5K, 10K, half (just over 21km), and full marathons (just over 42km) in addition to a 1.2m kid’s marathon and a wheelchair marathon. Almost 50,000 people participated this year and the key event is the Ottawa Marathon. First held in 1975, the Ottawa Marathon is the largest marathon event in Canada and participants can use it to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Seyma Uran ran the 5K with a group of friends as part of Islamic Relief Canada’s IRChallenges. Each raised $500.00 for orphans. She shared her experience with Muslim Link.

From December 9 to 26 of 2013, I traveled to Mount Everest in Nepal as part of a group of young Muslims fundraising for Islamic Relief Canada. For a few years now, I have been personally raising funds for orphan sponsorship by asking family and friends. Two years ago, a friend of mine encouraged me to participate in Islamic Relief Canada's CN Tower Edge Walk Challenge. It was a great experience being 1168ft above the ground, on the roof of CN Tower's restaurant! That's when I was introduced to Islamic Relief's challenges.