Like thousands of other Canadians, Capt. Travis Gaudet is lacing up his sneakers this weekend to run the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation’s CIBC Run for the Cure.

However, Gaudet, of Westville, Pictou County, will be taking part in the run thousands of kilometres away on a dusty airfield in Afghanistan.

“(The run) is like a little piece of home,” said Gaudet, 27, one of about 200 members Air Jordan 10 Retro of the Canadian Armed Forces taking part in the five kilometre run this morning at the Kandahar military airbase.

It is the first time the Run for the Air Jordan 2010 Cure, which has become a Canadian tradition, will take place off Canadian soil, according to organizers.

Another 100 members of military forces from other countries working at the base will also be running, with all funds raised going toward the Canadian foundation.

Back in Canada, about 60 communities from coast to coast are participating in the five kilometre run or one kilometre walk, which will be held Sunday in most places.

In Nova Scotia, organizers are expecting about 10,000 people to take Air Jordan CDP part in the run, with 8,500 participating in Halifax and another 1,500 in runs in Wolfville, Sydney and Church Point.

The goal is to raise about $1.4 million in Nova Scotia, said Sherri Robbins, director of the run for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation’s Atlantic region.

“The money goes to support research grants throughout Atlantic Canada, community health grants, hospital equipment,” she said.

“We have funded 17 digital mammography units throughout Atlantic Canada, and this year we were able to fund over $1 million in research grants (in Atlantic Canada) which was a milestone.”

Gaudet, an army logistics officer who has been stationed in Kandahar since April, said it is inspiring to take part in a uniquely Air Jordan 10 Canadian event so far from home.

“It is Air Jordan 20s definitely great to have these kind of things that are Canadian led and Canadian initiatives and to see the participation from other countries,” he said this week from Kandahar.

Like many of his comrades, Gaudet has personal reasons for participating in a cancer fundraiser. He said he is running for his father Ken Gaudet and a friend, Ryan Thebault, who have battled different forms of cancer.

“It really is a good cause and we really do help a lot more people than just those we are personally connected to.”

“The dust is really the bigger challenge, and the air quality. It is really, really heavy, and when you are running through it, it makes you feel a lot heavier,” Gaudet said.