The 38th Annual Terry Fox Run in Trail is mark, set, ready-to-go for Sunday.
Organizers for the family-friend event encourage locals of all fitness levels to join the fun and raise money for a good cause by walking, running, cycling or rollerblading the distance.
“Thanks to an amazing group of dedicated volunteers, Terry’s dream lives on,” says organizer Diane Langman.
Registration opens at 8 a.m. in Gyro Park with a mass start from Park Street at 10 a.m. Participants are encouraged to show up early for an all important warm-up session before embarking on either a five or 10 kilometre route.
Langman, currently finishing up her first term as Warfield Mayor, has been coordinating the event for six years now. She hopes to see even more than the 200-or-so people who usually show up for fundraising run.
Langman first became involved after spotting a Trail Times ad stating that a coordinator was needed to keep the Terry Fox Run moving forward.
“This is such an amazing event put on every year,” Langman told the Times. “I didn’t want to see it disappear from the Trail area so I decided to get involved. Not just for me, but also for my kids.
“I want all our kids to be able to learn and appreciate everything Terry did in order to further cancer research.”
Langman keeps coming back year after year for another reason, which is to connect with all the dedicated people who take part in the day.
“I really like seeing the participants who come back again and again, collecting their year badge and adding it on to their certificates,” she said. “Terry’s dream was that if every Canadian donated just one dollar there is no limit to what could happen … it’s just a really great community event and I encourage everyone to join in.”
Terry Fox left a torch for all of us, says Donna White, provincial director for the Terry Fox Foundation, BC and Yukon.
“The run is open and inclusive, there is no timing or prizes, ” White explained.
“Terry still inspires generations of Canadians, uniting the community through a cause that has touched each one of us at one point or another,” she said.
“Today we know more about cancer more than ever, and we have Terry to thank for that.”
Fox was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma in his right leg in 1977, and had his limb amputated 15 centimetres above the knee. While undergoing treatment, he was so affected by the suffering of other cancer patients that he decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.
At the age of 22, Fox ran the equivalent of a marathon a day for 143 straight days before the spread of his own cancer stopped his journey.
“I’m not a dreamer, and I’m not saying this will initiate any kind of definitive answer or cure to cancer,” he said. “But I believe in miracles. I have to.”
Since the New Westminster native ran his last miles in September 1980, more than $750 million has been raised worldwide to fund cancer research.