Great Success for Terry Fox Run

The 44th annual Terry Fox Run took place in 600 locations across Canada on Sunday, September 15 and the Medicine Hat event was another great success with almost 200 people participating on a bright sunny day. A record amount was raised to support the Terry Fox Foundation's cancer research at $22,000, a 5% increase from 2023 when the previous highest amount was doubled.

The local organizing committee from the Rotary Ignite and Sunrise Rotary clubs plus community members helped to make the event a fun and meaningful one for the people who walked, ran, rode bikes, or sat in strollers. The Cruisers, a band composed of young guys in junior and senior high school, entertained the crowd while the Medicine Hat Public Library was there with a number of giant games and a bubble machine to make it fun for the kids. A display of t-shirts from the past forty years was popular, as was the "I'm Running For" poster, and snacks/water. A testimony from a three-time cancer survivor paid tribute to the research that helped her overcome cancer. A young performer started the Run off by singing the national anthem.

The Terry Fox Run started with the Marathon of Hope in 1980 when twenty-two year old Terry Fox wanted to bring attention to people suffering with cancer by running across Canada. With an artificial leg replacing the one that was amputated because of cancer, Terry ran a marathon a day for 143 days, until his cancer returned and he had to give up his cross-country fundraiser outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario. But before he died, less than a year later, his goal of raising one dollar for every Canadian had been reached. The foundation created in his name has now raised more than $950 million for cancer research.

In addition to the community runs that took place all across the country on September 15, over 10,000 schools will participate with their own Terry Fox runs during this month, and events will take place in thirty other countries. Eight other cities outside of Canada held runs on Sunday, including London, Auckland, and Sapporo. Terry Fox has become a role model, not only in Canada, but internationally.

Next year the Run will take place on Sunday September 14 on the Sunrise Rotary Trail around the Medicine Hat College. Registration will open in early April and themed t-shirts will be available online. For further information please contact Keith Walker at kvwalker@telusplanet.net.