Shaving your head isn’t the only way to raise cash for annual cancer fundraiser St Baldrick’s.So proves a group of businessmen who swam in the ‘Round the Sound’ race to generate interest and support for the cause.Erik Soria, Britten West, Sergey Ulyanenko, Alex Kronenberg and Bill Orendorf all challenged themselves to take part in the 10K swim in a bid to raise $10,000.They got a head start on the fundraising efforts for the annual St Baldrick’s shave off held on March 16. The event typically calls on people of all ages to cut off their hair to raise cash for childhood cancer research.Mr Soria said he came up with the alternative fundraiser while having dinner with one of the event founders, Enda McDonnell, about six months ago.He said he was happy to support such an “extraordinary organisation” and said the experience was incredible.Three of the swimmers who competed in the 4K event placed first, second and third in their age group Mr Orendorf, Mr Ulyanenko and Mr Kronenberg.Mr Soria was fourth overall in the 10K swim and second in his age group; while Mr West finished the 10K for the second year in a row.The race was not without its physical challenges though. Mr Kronenberg had never swam even a mile before the event. Mr Ulyanenko was also originally scheduled to swim the 10K, but sprained his ankle a week before the race and ended up dragging one leg for the entire 4K swim.Mr Soria, who described the race as a “two-and-a-half-hour ordeal”, said he was able to push past the pain and think of the needy children who would benefit from the money raised.“To be honest while the pain was extensive we knew it was temporary [but] the children we are raising money for have to deal with significantly greater pain everyday of their life,” he said.“Knowing this made it easy to persevere and fight through the small challenge we faced. “In addition the cheering of spectators, support from our families and donors, and the will to complete the personal goal aided all of us.”As of last week they had raised more than $10,500. He said people were also signing up to support the cause next year.“Numerous people have come through the woodwork and offered their support for next year as well as shown interest in participating in the swim and joining our efforts.“The swim was just this past weekend and we are already thinking about what we will do next year,” he added.St Baldrick’s spokeswoman Marcia Breen said the fight to put an end to childhood cancer was a year-round battle. She said “baring a bald head was just one way to show support”.“There are many other ways you can make a difference. You can make a contribution, volunteer your time or organise an event of your own.“We encourage people to get creative and start fun events like the ‘Round the Sound’ swim. We have another person on the Island who's interested in organising a run or walk of some sort as well.”She applauded the five men’s efforts in the race and encouraged others to take part in similar fundraisers.People interested in organising an event of their own or joining in on someone else's can visit www.stbaldricks.org and click on events to register.