THUNDER BAY – Hundreds of Thunder Bay residents took part in in worldwide event on Sunday that honours a Canadian Hero and raises funds to support cancer research.
The annual Terry Fox Run was started to commemorate Canadian cancer activist Terry Fox and his Marathon of Hope which he unfortunately did not complete since he was forced to stop running outside of Thunder Bay because cancer had appeared in his lungs.
“It keeps Terry's legacy alive, and everybody knows his story about cancer and there's so many people that are impacted themselves or their family impacted by cancer,” said Don Morrison, chair of the Thunder Bay Terry Fox Run. “So I think it's really important that we, we celebrate them every year.”
The Terry Fox run is a long-standing tradition across the country and has spread around the globe, and Morrison said that seeing Fox’s legacy being honoured across the world is truly inspiring.
“It's amazing when you think about it. I know they have runs and and walks in in Asia and Africa and Europe, but it's it's all over the world,” he said. “So to have a Canadian person get that kind of an impact around the world is quite phenomenal.”
Thunder Bay’s Terry Fox run raised roughly $15,000 this year and saw between 250 and 300 people attend.
“We don't really set goals. Just try to get as much as we can and get as many people out as possible. The run, since its inception, has raised $850 million for Cancer Research, so that's a big number,” said Morrison.
All funds raised go to the Terry Fox Foundation to support cancer research.
