Treva Eaglesham remembers watching her cousin Terry Fox run across Canada 35 years ago.
She would have been in Grade 6 or 7 when he did his legendary Marathon of Hope against cancer in 1980, and remembers seeing him on the TV.
"I was getting excited because I actually thought he was going to come through Brandon (Manitoba)," she said, as that was where she and his grandmother lived.
Then his cancer spread to his lungs, and he had to stop his run just outside Thunder Bay, Ont., on Sept. 1, 1980.
"I felt very sad."
Eaglesham, who lives in St. Albert, is one of the many people who plan to take part this week in the run Terry Fox inspired.
Thousands will strap on their shoes this week in the St. Albert region for the 35th annual Terry Fox run – one of Canada's most recognized fundraisers for cancer research.
St. Albert has held a citywide Terry Fox Run 30 times since 1983 and raised some $333,310 through it, said Rhonda Risebrough, Alberta director for the Terry Fox Foundation. Morinville and St. Albert public and Catholic schools have raised about $359,579 through the run since that year.
In celebration of the run's 35th anniversary, Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore has challenged mayors to raise $1 per Canadian through this year's run. Port Coquitlam was Fox's hometown.
That's the same amount that Fox asked for, and received, in his original run, Risebrough said. The population of Canada is now about 35 million, she added – just in time for the 35th anniversary.
St. Albert raised about $48,044 last year once you include all the school-based Terry Fox runs, Risebrough said. It would need to raise $63,255 to meet Moore's challenge.
The official St. Albert Terry Fox run is this Sunday, Sept. 20, said organizer Cassandra Meunier. She's hoping for about 250 participants.
The run starts at Lions Park at 11 a.m., with registration starting at 10. Runners will follow the Red Willow Park trail east to Boudreau Rd., cross the bridge, head west to the Children's Bridge and finish in Lions Park.
Participants can do a five or 10 km run and take as much time as they like, Meunier said. All ages are welcome. They can also enter into a draw for a one-night stay at the Delta Lodge at Kananaskis, all proceeds from which will go towards the run.
School runners
Thousands of St. Albert-area students will do their own Terry Fox runs this week.
Schools are huge participants in the Terry Fox Run, Risebrough said.
"The educators have done such a fantastic job of passing on the story of Terry," she said.
"He's always been a great role model for courage, perseverance and overcoming obstacles."
While most St. Albert schools are holding individual runs, the Morinville Public, Notre Dame, and Georges H. Primeau schools in Morinville are holding a special mass run this Wednesday.
Town community development co-ordinator Allen Jacobson said he organized this run because he though it would be nice to bring all the schools together.
About a thousand students will take part in the run, with Morinville Public students setting out from the Community Cultural Centre at 10 a.m. and everyone else running at 1:15 p.m. (Jacobson had hoped to have everyone run at the same time, but couldn't fit all of them in the centre at once.) Each school will take a different two-to-five kilometre route around town and return to their own schools for a post-run celebration.
"It's going to be a great celebration for such a great cause."
Jacobson said he planned to organize a town-wide Terry Fox Run for 2016.
Lasting legacy
The Terry Fox Run is now held in about 30 nations and has raised some $700 million for cancer research, Risebrough said.
It's amazing to see how the run has spread across the world, Eaglesham said.
"Everyone knows who Terry Fox is. You talk to the kids at school and everyone's so excited when they hear about Terry Fox."
Call Meunier at 780-236-0282 for details on the St. Albert run.
