They came. They gathered. And they cheered.
Up to 1,300 students and community members collectively roared with approval for the start of the annual Terry Fox Run on the Innisfail schools campus on Sept. 26.
The huge throng of Innisfail's young, alongside members of the community, showed they are still in awe of Fox's courageous Marathon of Hope 33 years ago, proving once again the late runner's legacy continues to touch the hearts of Canadians, particularly the young.
“The Terry Fox Run is a great cause and he was a great man,” said Bryn Chambers, branch manager at the local Scotiabank and a member of the Terry Fox Run Committee. When the students assembled for the event he asked them to think of Fox as they walked and ran around the event routes.
This year, as in 2012, Scotiabank teamed up with the town's five local schools to organize one single run, combining the former school and community events.
“It was a joint effort. They (community run organizers) were having trouble drawing their numbers,” noted Jay Steeves, principal of Innisfail Middle School and one of the event's organizers. “Normally they would run the following Sunday and we were doing ours during school time.
“We thought that if we made this a bigger effort and got more energy behind it, especially with the youth, we can draw some more community members,” he added.
The event included the participation of students from Chinook Center School, John Wilson Elementary School, Innisfail Middle School, Innisfail Jr./Sr. High School, and St. Marguerite Bourgeoys School from the Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools system.
“This is one of the rare joint efforts with the public and Catholic schools. It is a neat way to do it,” said Steeves, adding that three courses were set up for the students, with a short one for the youngest children and graduating to longer ones for older students.
He said students raised about $1,400 last year, which was matched by Scotiabank. The financial institution is also matching the first $5,000 raised in pledges at the bank.
“We are all going to put our money together. I am hoping it is going to be even bigger,” said Steeves, adding that students were asked to watch special videos produced by the Terry Fox Foundation after the event.
He said money raised by the local run would be forwarded to the foundation. Since the annual Terry Fox Run began in 1981 it has raised about $500 million for cancer research. The run is held every year at thousands of sites in several countries around the world.
