By THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS

For the last 12 years, the U.S.-based direct-sales cosmetic and personal care products company Avon México has sponsored an annual walk and run to raise money for and awareness about breast cancer, which is the Number One cause of cancer deaths for Mexican women, affecting about one in every eight in their lifetime.

This year will be no different.

In Sunday, Oct. 6, and Sunday, Oct. 27, an estimated 10,000 men, women and children in Celaya, Guanajuato, and Mexico City will participate in the 13th edition of the Carrera Caminata Mixta Avon, part of the 25-year-old Promesa Avon (Avon Promise) four-stage program to fight breast cancer though sensitization, research, treatment and reconstruction.

The 10-kilometer race and 5-kilometer walk in Mexico City will be held on Oct. 27, starting at 7 a.m. and leaving from the Diana Fountain on Avenida Reforma in Colonia Juárez.

The cost of participating is 355 pesos per person.

The race in Celaya will be held on Sunday, Oct. 6, and will begin at the Antigua Feria de Celaya.

The cost for the Celaya race/walk is 255 pesos per person.

Each participant in races will receive a kit containing a commemorative T-shirt, a baseball cap, a running number, a bag, a selection of Avon products and other gifts from participating sponsors.

The Avon Breast Cancer Crusade was first launched in the United Kingdom in 1992, and later extended to over 50 countries, including Mexico.

Since 1994, the company has dispersed nearly 210 million pesos to nine Mexican nonprofit organizations dedicated to fighting breast cancer.

That money was raised through donations for participation in the annual run/walk and through the sale of special “pink” products each October (International Breast Cancer Awareness Month), from which part of the proceeds go to Promesa Avon.

This year, the race’s ambassadress will be Mexican actress and athlete Carmen Baqué.

For more information on these events or to sign up to participate, check out the Avon webpage.