The sun was out and shining brilliantly on Sunday, Sept. 20 as runners, students and families alike came out in support of the 35th annual Terry Fox Run. 420 runners tied up their laces alongside some four-legged furry friends and participated in the 10-km run, raising over $53,000.
The event ran smoothly with the help of 23 volunteers, including Maryse Darch, a University of Guelph graduate student. Darch first became involved ten years ago after the loss of a close friend’s parent. Since then, she has been participating as a runner, volunteer, and now organizer, helping to put together this year’s Guelph event.
Darch feels that this is an important event for fundraising. “As a research student I know how much projects cost, and how helpful the money is. Research has come so far since 1980, and it is thanks to donations that we have been able to accomplish so much.”
“It comes back to Guelph in a very special way,” said Darch, recognizing the event’s larger connections within the community. Last month, University of Guelph Professor Byram Bridle received $450,000 from the Terry Fox Research Institute to test canine osteosarcoma (bone cancer) vaccines, with a hopeful human application. This is the first-ever clinical trial for canine osteosarcoma.
The funds raised are only one essential component of the Terry Fox Run; it is also an extraordinary movement of hope. Terry said, “It’ll inspire more people. I just wish people would realize that anything’s possible if you try; dreams are made possible if you try.”
As Darch helped register runners this morning, she stood beside a massive white board with messages of determination, perseverance and hope. Some participants acknowledged that they were running for those affected by cancer, while others were running for a cure or for those who couldn’t run.
In 1977, Terry Fox was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a bone cancer, which resulted in the amputation of his right leg. Fox came up with the idea to run from one coast of Canada to the other to raise awareness and money for cancer research. He called it “The Marathon of Hope,” and in 1980 he started by dipping his prosthetic leg into the Atlantic Ocean. From St. Johns, Newfoundland, Terry ran 42 kilometres a day until his cancer returned and he was forced to end his journey in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
With this legacy in mind, the first Terry Fox run took place on Sept. 13, 1981 in over 720 sites across the country, raising more than $3.5 million. The Terry Fox run has been happening in Guelph since 1982, raising over $830,000.
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The Ontarion publishes independent, student-produced news, opinion, and commentary for University of Guelph students so that they can make informed decisions in their lives. To do this, The Ontarion provides learning opportunities and training in journalism, media production, leadership, board governance, and other aspects of nonprofit news.
The Ontarion is the University of Guelph’s independent student newspaper. It began in 1951 as part of the Ontario Agricultural College and then began to represent the entire University of Guelph once it amalgamated in 1964. The Ontarion incorporated in May 1970 as The Ontarion, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation registered with the province of Ontario.