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Terry Fox Run returns this Sunday after pandemic-borne hiatus

September 15, 2022   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

After a two-year break, cancer research supporters will lace sneakers for the Terry Fox Run this weekend.

The Orangeville run takes place this Sunday (Sept. 18) with registration at 8:30 a.m. at the Rotary Park Pavilion at 70 Second Avenue. Sneakers will be laced, hamstrings stretched, and the run will kick off at 9 a.m.

The run is a five-kilometre loop through town, said Mark Whitcombe, a long-time supporter and one of the local organizers. Participants can walk, run, roller-blade, or bike along the route.

Interested participants can also register online at terryfox.org/run

It’s hard to tell if the two-year break brought on by the coronavirus pandemic that basically brought the world to a halt will have hampered interest in running to support the fight against cancer.

“We’re going to find that out,” Whitcombe said of local participation.

Across the country, participation is tallied to be at an all-time high with as many as four million Canadians expected to participate.

Whitcombe said this year’s edition marks the 39^th run in Orangeville. And the local community has raised about $400,000 since the first outing in 1982, he said.

“There has been a remarkable amount of money pledged thus far,” Whitcombe said of the Orangeville run. “That’s a very hopeful sign.”

Indeed, it’s hoped that’s an indication of interest in and support for the Terry Fox Run hasn’t waned because of the hiatus.

Terry Fox Runs have raised more than $850 million since 1980. That has funded 1,300 cancer research projects through 10,000 events with four million supporters.

This annual fundraiser carries on Terry’s dream of raising critical funds for cancer research in Canada.

Now in its 42nd year, the Terry Fox Run has evolved into the largest fundraising event in support of cancer research in the world, with annual events taking place in 33 countries on five continents.

The Terry Fox School Run will also take place in schools and communities across Canada on Sept. 23 with over 9,000 schools and more than three million students participating.

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