The familiar Terry Fox Run event took place on September 18, with an official flag raising ceremony on September 13. This year’s event took place in-person at the Ferguson Forest Centre. Participants could choose to walk or run a 2, 5 or 10 km route as an individual or group. Prior to the event, Council officially declared September 18 as Terry Fox Run Day, and the Terry Fox Flag was flown from Sept 13 to Sept 19 inclusive.
Prior to the event, Mayor Nancy Peckford was actively encouraging locals to join in the Run. “While the events were virtual the past two years, individuals, teams and families came together in North Grenville and raised over $30,000 for the virtual Terry Fox Run,” she said. “Let’s keep it going again this year North Grenville! We have all been affected by cancer. Terry’s story and passion gives us hope – to realize a world without cancer.”
Meanwhile, the official Terry Fox School Run is set for September 23. During the school run, students are optionally invited to bring a donation for the Terry Fox Foundation, but all students participate in the Run regardless. Students in the area elementary schools often tally their laps in various creative ways, such as by having a staff member punch a hole in a shoe-shaped paper every time they complete a lap.
The Terry Fox Run is an event named after Terrance Stanley “Terry” Fox, who endeavored to run the entire way across Canada in 1980 to raise awareness about cancer and to raise money for cancer research after a battle with cancer that cost him most of his right leg.
Terry was from Port Coquitlam, BC, and he began his journey by dipping his leg in the Atlantic Ocean on Canada’s East Coast on April 12, 1980, with the goal of running all the way home. Terry’s journey was tragically cut short on September 1, 1980 in Thunder Bay, after running a remarkable 5,373 kilometres. His cancer had returned – this time to his lungs – and on June 28, 1981, Terry passed away, but not before insisting that his Run and the fight against cancer must continue.
Supervised by the Terry Fox Foundation, the Run has raised over $850 million in Terry’s name to fund cancer research, with the amount increasing every year. Events are held both in Canada and internationally, with money being raised in other countries usually used to fund research in the host country.
Those interested in learning more about Terry Fox and his legacy can visit https://terryfox.org/.
