Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Napanee’s Terry Fox Run participants will have the chance to run, walk or roll a 5 km or 10 km course on Sept. 15, doing their part to continue Fox’s fight against cancer.
Registration for the Napanee event will begin at 9 a.m. in Conservation Park, with two course options. As always, the run isn’t about seeing who is the fastest, rather an opportunity for the community to get together, collect pledges and donate to the fight against cancer.
“It’s open to anybody and they can get around the route as best they can,” said Michelle Way, one of this year’s event organizers.
They’ve set a goal of topping last year’s $11,700 raised, which saw 146 people take part.
“We’re hoping to bump it up a bit to $12,000,” said Way.
Registration is now open by visiting www.TerryFox.ca and searching Napanee. A Facebook page titled Terry Fox Run Napanee, has also been established.
People can also register on the day of the event. While opening ceremonies will take place at 9:30 a.m. in Conservation Park, the event runs all morning and people can depart at their own leisure.
This will mark the second year the run will begin at Conservation Park, following a route along the Napanee River.
“Last year we moved there because of all the construction that was going on at the Napanee Mall,” said Way. “We moved (to Conservation Park) because it’s covered and because our 10 km and 5 km routes start along the river, which we thought was a nice addition.”
Because it’s not a race, the event is perfect for families and all walks of life.
“It’s a wide range of people that come out and do the run,” said Way. “We have all kinds, we have people who are survivors themselves, we have people going through treatments, or a family member of a friend. It’s a gamut of people who have a connection because of this awful disease.”
Napanee has hosted a run since 1982, following in the footsteps of Fox, who embarked on the original Marathon of Hope on April 12, 1980. He began his run on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean near St. John’s Newfoundland, with the intent to run to Victoria, BC. His goal was to raise one dollar for every Canadian. On Sept. 1 of that year he was forced to stop his run outside of Thunder Bay, On. when his cancer has spread to his lungs. Insistent that he would return to complete his run, he lost his battle in June of 1981. Though he didn’t complete his run, his goal of raising awareness of the disease and establishing a fund to raise money to research a cure still lives on nearly 40 years later. Similar runs take part every September in communities all across the world.