More than 200 runners braved the chilly, rainy weather for last Sunday’s Terry Fox Run in St. Albert, raising about $7,000 for cancer research.
The five-kilometre route through the Sturgeon River Valley trails beginning at Lions Park may have been damp, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of the runners or the volunteers hosting the event.
Organizer Cassandra Meunier said while the number of participants was consistent with what she has seen in previous years, the donation total was a bit lower – perhaps as a result of the tough economic times.
Nonetheless, she heralded the event as a success in terms of bringing people together to help fight cancer, a group of diseases that has directly or indirectly affected every single Canadian.
Of all the different causes to support, she said the Terry Fox run is so high on her list because of all those personal stories of people, and the fact Terry Fox is a homegrown hero for this country.
“It’s one of our own: it’s Canadian, it’s grassroots, and what Terry fought for and ran for was not just for himself, but for every single person he saw struggling with the disease,” Meunier said. “It’s not prejudiced; it affects anyone and everyone.”
