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No quitting for the virtual Terry Fox Run

The event was moved online amidst the pandemic.

  • 41st annual rendition of event
  • $35,000 goal

Like the Canadian icon who it’s named after, the Terry Fox Foundation doesn’t give up when it comes to fighting Cancer. This weekend’s event is the 41st annual Terry Fox run.

The Terryfox.ca website said there was no thought to cancel the run, ‘Because cancer research can't wait for COVID-19 to be over. Because Terry asked us to try.’

Norm Letnick, the MLA for Kelowna Lake Country, is also the Run Organizer for Kelowna.

“Back in the 40’s when cancer was your diagnosis, what an awful thing to hear. Back in the 40’s you had a 25% chance of surviving for 5 years. Today you have a 63% chance of surviving for 5 years” Letnick said.

“So all that effort done by people right here in Kelowna, the central Okanagan, across the country goes to help pay for the research that is necessary so those words ‘you’ve got cancer’ will have maybe a marginal less impact than it used to before.”

Fox began his Marathon of Hope in 1980, starting in St John’s Newfoundland. He would run over 42 kilometer’s a day before being forced to end his cross-country run as cancer appeared in his lungs. He died a year later at 22 years of age.

With Covid-19 forcing many events to cancel, the Terry Fox Run adapted by moving to online. For the second year in a row, they’re asking participants to register to walk, run, or bike virtually as a group or as individuals.

This includes recording themselves for part or all their run and posting the videos to social media.

Sunday Sept. 19 is the official date for the run with the school district participating in their own, ten days later on Sept. 29.

Letnick is already looking ahead to next year’s run.

“I’ve already contacted the city for an application to put in the Terry Fox back to live in person event for next year,” he said.

“Which usually in our city attracts hundreds and hundreds of participants.”

Letnick encourages people to run in a blue Terry Fox Run T-shirt available for purchase by emailing him at nletnick@gmail.com for further fundraising.

The goal for Kelowna is $35,000. As of Friday Sept 17, over $20,000 has been raised (almost 60% of the goal).

Other ways to support are to purchase merchandise online or donate at terryfox.org/terry-fox-run/.

Published 2021-11-04 by David Hanson

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