A little rain can't hurt.

That was the attitude of the approximately 1,000 participants in the sixth annual Run for Mom, held this past weekend at Rotary Peace Park in Whitehorse.

Run for Mom is a six kilometre walk or run to raise money in support of breast health programs for Yukoners, a cause which people supported despite the rather ugly weather Sunday.

'The weather didn't turn away the dollars,' said Val Pike, community liaison nurse for Whitehorse General Hospital and one of the organizers of the event, in an interview this morning. 'It maybe dampened a few spirits, but people still came out to support the cause.

'So many people are so dedicated to the cause that they came out regardless of the bad weather. They just put on extra jackets.'

For many of the participants, cancer has hit home more than once. They hope to raise awareness of the disease by taking part in the event.

'I'm doing this for my mother, who had breast cancer 30 years ago and died two years ago,' said Leona Etmansky. 'And my two sister-in-laws, Vicki and Nancy. They both have had breast cancer.'

Etmansky also has many friends in the Yukon who have either had or have breast cancer. She said events such as the Run for Mom are important in raising awareness of breast cancer and helping provide treatment.

'The more you know, the more you can do things that might help,' she said.

Cancer has also hit Roger Hannberg's family hard, especially on his wife's side.

'I'm running in remembrance of my aunt, Minnie Joe,' he said. 'Just to make people more aware of the need for support for cancer patients and cancer research.'

Hannberg also brought his wife and two children to the event. His son and daughter were running for their grandma Alice Frost while his wife ran for grandma Joanne Njootli. Both Frost and Njootli also passed away from cancer.

While 14-year-old Colin Campbell hasn't personally been affected by cancer, he decided to run because 'breast cancer is a disease and lots of women have it, we need to generate money.'

Campbell has been training for eight weeks in the Learn to Walk, Learn to Run program and decided to make his running debut Sunday, completing the entire race. He plans on participating again next year.

As of this morning, about $37,000 had been raised through the Run for Mom and community activities surrounding it, and there is still lots more money expected to come in during the next couple of days.

The community of Atlin raised over $1,000 with it's annual run while Grey Mountain Primary School will donate over $700. Local resident Wendy Callahan, who takes part in the race every year, raised more than $4,000 in pledges this year.

'That's quite a phenomenal feat when you think about it,' said Pike. 'I think she knows quite a few people dealing with cancer and really wants to help out with the cause.

'She just goes out there and pounds the pavement.'

The run also gets continued support from major sponsors such as CIBC, Subway, Tim Hortons and CKRW, each of which donates at least $5,000.

'We just want people to come out and support us anyway they can, either financing, buying a T-shirt or just hanging out to support the cause,' stated Pike.

Local musician Lana Rae performed for the crowd before the run this year, something which Pike called 'very well received.'

She said the Run for Mom board will have a wrap-up meeting later this week to figure out final numbers, but at this point everyone is 'quite impressed that people came out.'