It was a record-setting day for fundraising, and a day filled with friendship and emotion, at the 18th annual GUT (Get Up There) event on March 6th, presented by Di5. The sun was shining as participants gathered together to make the long climb through deep snow to the top of Ski Wentworth, all to raise funds and awareness in the fight against colorectal cancer. GUT was created 18 years ago by Mark Gascoigne in memory of his father.
Stephen Harding and Mark Gascoigne
“I wanted to do something to honour my Dad,” said Mark, speaking to participants at the end of the day. “I had this crazy idea and the first person I called was Craig Bethune. And the reason I called Craig was because of all my friends, I knew he wouldn’t try to talk me out if it.”
Craig Bethune was a founding brother of the GUT organizing team. Tragically, he passed away suddenly less than a week before this year’s event was to take place. He was certainly in the thoughts of those who took part, with many people having made donations in his honour.
“I remember hearing someone say that you only had room for 100 friends,” said Mark. “Craig never heard that. He could make a hundred friends in a weekend. And so, we can see his impact, and what an amazing human being he was, just by the outpouring here today.”
Craig’s daughter Lauren was there to see the unveiling of this year’s fundraising total, an amazing $160,540. This far surpassed the goal of $125,000 and was an 18-year fundraising record for GUT. That number has continued to climb in the days since, surpassing $165,000.
Lauren Bethune and the GUT Organizers
“Craig Bethune was a leader, he was an incredible champion of community,” said Stephen Harding, President and CEO of the Dartmouth General Hospital Foundation. “He was so passionate about colon cancer screening. What he helped achieve with the GUT team, opening the third endoscopy suite at Dartmouth General linked to the provincial colorectal screening program. Now there’s no wait list, thanks to Craig and the team.”
The GUT event is about raising funds, but also about raising awareness of screening and early detection. A few years back, only about 35 percent of people who received the FIT (Fecal Immunochemical Test) completed it. Now, it’s edging closer to half.
“It is extremely important that we continue this fight because colon cancer is 90 percent preventable,” said Dartmouth General Hospital surgeon and advanced endoscopist Dr. Riley Stewart. “The way we prevent it is we screen for colon cancer. You get a colonoscopy, you get a FIT test. Doing events like this helps our families, our neighbours and our communities.”
The event itself brings together a community of volunteers and sponsors to help make it happen. This year’s key event sponsors included Di5, AprilVets, Cresco, Boston Scientific, Build Nova Scotia and Emergency Medical Care Inc.
Many people who took part in GUT and raised funds did so for personal reasons. Robynn Carroll is a nurse at Dartmouth General Hospital.
Robynn Carroll, hiking with photos of her sister Katie
“I’m participating because of my sister,” said Robynn, holding a photo she carried with her through the climb. “She died last month. Her name was Katie.”
Katie had benefitted from early detection of colorectal cancer. She was continuing to stay active through her treatment but died from heart complications at the age of 45.
“She was just all around amazing and I know this was something that she would have loved to do,” said Robynn. “She would have wanted to raise awareness to help the next person.”
To view more photos from GUT 2026, click here
