A letter from Rosemary Westie

It is truly amazing that Save Your Skin Foundation is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.  For me, it is a time of reflection and takes me back to one of the darkest periods of my life.

When my sister Kath was diagnosed with late stage metastasized melanoma in 2003 and told she would be lucky to survive 3-6 months, our family was in shock. We were overwhelmed and desperately looking for help, information, or treatment options.

What we learned very quickly is that you have to be your own advocate, and that no one is going to walk you through the nightmare that is cancer.  That led us to decide to start a small charity to provide others with the help and support we had longed for.  Our vision was to raise awareness of melanoma, and to provide financial and emotional support to those dealing with it.  

We had just one problem; we had no idea where to start.

What we did have though, was a friend named Heather McDonald, who owned a lot of the trail runs I had done through the years in North Vancouver through her company Mountain Madness. 

My sister Kath and I met with Heather to discuss bringing awareness to this relentless disease, and she kindly suggested that we start a Foundation so that she could attach us to her events and help us raise funds at her upcoming Dirty Duo race. 

So, we did!  Kath started Save Your Skin Foundation, and as they say, the rest is history.

On this 20th anniversary of Save Your Skin, we are going back to where it all started by participating in races once again. We will have runners and volunteers participating at the Dirty Duo on Saturday, March 21st, 2026.

Although Heather no longer owns the legendary trail races, all of the amazing runs continue under Trail Whisperer, owned by Benji Chu.

Heather's organization, Mountain Madness, continues to provide support to organizations such as North Shore Rescue, a volunteer community-based search and rescue team that has saved countless lives in our mountains. They are a group we can all be proud to support. 

Without a wonderful community, so much of what we have accomplished would not be possible. We are truly grateful for your continuous support throughout the years. We are now challenging you to get your runners out and join us on the trails. Who knows, this may be the year you discover your passion for trail running!

Happy anniversary Save Your Skin Foundation, I'm so proud of you Kathy.