The annual Chace'em up the Mount event has been a time to remember a great son and to help raise funds for a worthwhile cause says Ryan Topperwien.

Ryan is the director of Dream Chaser Foundation the organisation which runs the Chace'em up the Mount fun run. He is also the father of the late Chace Topperwien. The Whakatane toddler lost his battle with leukaemia with acute myeloid leukaemia on March 14, 2011.

Grace Murray-Cawte is welcomed to the finish line. Photos: Cameron Avery.

The run is in honour of the youngster but also a time to remember not only Chace but for other families who have gone through the same trauma.

'We've done a minutes silence because since [the event] has been going we've had quite a few kids we've been supporting that have passed away and so before our event we like to do a minute silence and just read through the names,” Ryan says.

Denise Donnelly.

'Because we've got a few of those families that we support here today. One of the things we really like is when people talk about our kids. It's a bit of a touchy subject some people enjoy it and some don't but we really like it, even though they're not here anymore. We like to do it as much as we can.”

Ryan says it is the third year the event has been going and this year it appeared it was bigger than previous events.

'I'd say there are close to 100 people taking part. We're really happy with that. We've actually got two kid of events going on. They're limited numbers, team relays race up the mounted but we have to limit it to eight teams and then there's also a family friendly version of it where [everyone] goes around the mountain.”

Ryan says the money raised from the event goes to the Dream Chaser Foundation a child cancer charity the money is used to support the families of children diagnosed from cancer.

'We're a nationwide charity and we've got about 130 families throughout New Zealand. So all the money that we raise goes towards supporting them either financially or helping them out where ever we can.”

The event had a real positive vibe with plenty of music and laughter. Ryan says it would have been an event Chace would have loved to take part in.

'He was a really outdoors boy. We thought it was going to be difficult because when kids are going through treatment.

'They have to be in isolation quite often and we thought that was going to be quite a mission. But he just adapted and he knew he wasn't allowed to go out of his room some times,” Ryan says. 'To have an outdoors events for us is really cool because he would have enjoyed it.”