Soraya Sabetian Kan's Fundraising Page

Hello everybody

Well who would have thought I would sign up to run the 5km marathon for the adidas on 31 October 2010! I am not a runner and never had any interest in running. The only time I do run is to stop my children from falling or chased by an animal.

Well in saying that, this is a good cause and I have started training for this.
My personal reasons are;

• To be fit
• Family history
• my children
• for my beloved father

My father just celebrated his 68th Birthday in September. I am so grateful he is still with us and got to meet his grand children. After numerous heart attacks he had an open heart surgery (Coronary Artery bypass Graft, CABG) in 2003. Back then I wasn’t married or had any children. Just before his operation he said to me “I hope to survive this surgery to walk you down aisle and to get to meet my grand children”.

My father is a lucky man he did walk me down aisle and met his grand children. He also traveled to Israel and Turkey in 2007, to attend my brother’s wedding.

Nevertheless many others don’t get the chance. Each day 16 New Zealanders die as a result of coronary heart disease. That's one person every 90 minutes. And many of these deaths are premature and preventable.

Cardiovascular disease (heart, stroke & blood vessel disease) is the single leading cause of death in New Zealand. It causes 40 percent of all deaths annually in our country - making it more deadly than all forms of cancer.

The nature of who is affected by it is changing. New research shows that young adults in their 20s and 30s are being admitted to hospital for heart attacks more than ever before, and that this age group is dying at a faster rate than people of the same age in previous generations. Much of this change is due to unhealthy lifestyles - poor eating habits, lack of physical activity and being a smoker.

But the good news is that many risk factors for heart disease are preventable, if people make healthy lifestyle choices.

So, help me as I join the race to beat heart disease.

I've signed up as a Heart Racer to raise money to support the Heart Foundation. By donating through my webpage you will be helping the Heart Foundation continue its vital work in research, cardiac rehabilitation, education programmes and resources.

I'll do all the hard work (train for and complete the event), but I really need you to make a difference to the hearts of New Zealanders.

So, please could you sponsor me?

Select the "Make a donation" button below. It's simple, fast and totally secure and the money goes directly to the Heart Foundation's bank account.

If you live in New Zealand your donation is tax deductible and a receipt will be issued.

So please help me today! And pass it on to your family and friends!

Many thanks for your support
Soraya (Princes) xxx