Logan and Walter Norquay, left, pass by another family taking part in the 34th annual Terry Fox Run at the waterfront on Sunday. In the previous 33 years, the North Bay event has raised approximately $600,000 for cancer research. PHOTO BY LIAM BERTI
Nearing the premature end of his Marathon of Hope journey across Canada, Terry Fox said, “even if I don’t finish, we need others to continue. It’s got to keep going without me.”
On Sunday morning, North Bay did its part in continuing Fox’s effort by taking part in the 34th annual Terry Fox run at the waterfront.
The thick morning fog rolled off of Lake Nipissing and the clouds parted just in time for runners, walkers and cyclists to set off on the circuit for the non-competitive event.
It is often said that most people feel the impact of cancer in one way or another. Ken Hastie, the organizer and chair of the North Bay Terry Fox Run, is one of those people.
After losing his sister and father within two months of each other in 1994, and confronting the disease himself at one point, Hastie said continuing the local effort is the least he could do for the good cause.
“The thing about it is because everyone has been touched by cancer, they’re very generous when it comes to supporting it,” said Hastie, who has been organizing the event for five years now. “What I’ve seen here in North Bay, I see the same people every year; it’s an event that they plan and make sure they can attend.
“My expectation is that it’s only going to continue and keep growing.”
Registration began at 8:30 a.m., with runners and walkers setting off along the waterfront walkway while cyclists completed a loop on the Kate Pace Way, confronting the chilly conditions along the way.
“We can’t guarantee the weather, but when Terry Fox was running he didn’t get a lot of good weather either, he was running through rain and a lot of adverse conditions,” Hastie explained. “He was 22-years-old and his name is living on forever, not many of us are going to go through life with that.”
While the amount raised from this year’s run is not yet known, 84 cents of every dollar donated goes towards cancer research. Hastie says he expects similar results to last year, when the event brought in upwards of $20,000.
Not including this year’s run, Hastie says North Bay's contribution from the run is over $600,000. During his introduction speech to kick off the event, Hastie called attention to the increased five-year survival rate of different types of cancer over the past 10 years thanks to continuing discovery-based research.
Even the cancer that Fox battled and ultimately succumbed to, known as osteosarcoma, has seen drastically improved treatment in the last few decades, with the majority of patients keeping their limbs and often surviving the cancer.
Since Fox began his Marathon of Hope, over $650 million has been raised in the fight against cancer. It is estimated that 200,000 Canadians on Sunday alone will have taken part in Terry Fox runs in upwards of 800 communities across the nation.
On a larger scale, Hastie said the run has reached 70 different countries and over two million participants.
On top of raising money for research, the Terry Fox Foundation states that an equally important part of their mandate is to continue to share the extraordinary and remarkable story of Fox.
“It’s amazing to see that it started out so small and now it has grown to the point where it’s all over the world now,” said Debbey Bentley, who has volunteered her time for the event since 2004. “It’s just so impressive that people have taken part and understand how important it is.
“Bit by bit after (Fox) passed away, you started to realize what an amazing feat he had accomplished,” she continued. “What he did, it was amazing and it’s just so great to see that people still have it in their heart to donate and take part in recognizing a Canadian icon.”
Bentley is one of approximately 10,000 volunteers in Ontario who donate their time and effort to the community events.
In the coming weeks, schools across the country will be holding their own runs as well as part of the National School Run Day on Wednesday, Sept. 24. On the local level, Hastie says that the school runs have raised just as much as the community runs in years past.
Hastie says he is also predicting an even better turnout next year for the 35th anniversary run.
