The annual Terry Fox Run is coming up this Sunday, but, for a second straight year is virtual due to the pandemic.
The Belleville event’s lead organizer Vicki Samaras says you can walk, run or ride wherever you like to honour the memory of one of Canada’s biggest heroes and raise money for cancer research.
She says it’s disappointing to have to hold a virtual event for a second year in a row but last year’s run was one of Belleville’s most successful, raising nearly $37,000 for the Terry Fox foundation.
“This year, I know everybody has pandemic fatigue. But Terry Fox once said, ‘”If you’ve given a dollar, you’ve joined the Marathon of Hope.” People are still getting cancer. People are still being diagnosed every single day. And the Foundation was set up by Terry Fox to find a cure.”
This year’s run has already raised $14,000.
Since it began in 1981, the Belleville Terry Fox run has raised $916,096.68 and with the local event closing in on $1 million raised, Samaras says it’s important to keep the momentum going.
There is no registration fee to join the event, just sign up online as an individual, family or virtual team and make a donation.
“So you go to terryfox.org and then it says Terry Fox. When you click on that, it takes you to a big map of our country and you click on Belleville and it will say donate or register to this site. You can just go and it’s a very easy one-pager. And you fill out the information and boom, away you go.”
Though there will be no formal event at Zwick’s Park like there usually is, Samaras says some people did choose to use the park for their run last year.
She will also be set up at the park accepting donations from 9-11 a.m. on Sunday morning.
To register for the event or to donate, click here.
