The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Next Sunday residents will be tightening their shoelaces and making sure their hats are secure as they prepare for the annual Terry Fox Run. Flin Flon, along with cities and towns all across Canada will be helping to raise money and awareness for the Terry Fox Foundation Ð a foundation created to help find the answers of cancer. Terry Fox & the Terry Fox Foundation According to the Foundation's website, "Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and raised in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, a community near Vancouver on Canada's west coast. An active teenager involved in many sports, Terry was only 18 years old when he was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma (bone cancer) and forced to have his right leg amputated 15 centimetres (six inches) above the knee in 1977. "While in hospital, Terry was so overcome by the suffering of other cancer patients, many of them young children, that he decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research. "He would call his journey the Marathon of Hope. It was a journey that Canadians never forgot." And so today, people from all over the country walk, run or jog to help raise the money and the awareness that is needed to carry on his dream. "After 18 months and running over 5,000 kilometres (3,107 miles) to prepare," the website says "Terry started his run in St. John's, Newfoundland on April 12, 1980 with little fanfare. Although it was difficult to garner attention in the beginning, enthusiasm soon grew, and the money collected along his route began to mount. "He ran 42 kilometres (26 miles) a day through Canada's Atlantic provinces, Quebec and Ontario. However, on September 1st, after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 miles), Terry was forced to stop running outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario because cancer had appeared in his lungs. An entire nation was stunned and saddened. Terry passed away on June 28, 1981 at the age 22." Aside from the community walk, schools across the nation also participate. And while many of the people running and walking in the event were not around during Terry's Marathon of Hope, his legacy lives on. "The heroic Canadian was gone, but his legacy was just beginning," the website says. "To date, more than $400 million has been raised worldwide for cancer research in Terry's name through the annual Terry Fox Run, held across Canada and around the world." For Flin Flon, organizer Aimee Deans says she doesn't know how many people to expect or what kind of dollar amount will be pulled in. In the past, the city has seen between 15 and 50 people out for the walk. Deans says they typically get over $1,000, but would like to see $1,500 this year. For all of those participating, both the run and the walk get started at Flinty's Boardwalk on Sunday, September 13 at 11 a.m. Those walking will head around Ross Lake on the boardwalk trail while those running will head towards Channing for the five kilometer run. "It's a community event for a great cause," she says. "Come on down to the boardwalk and run, walk or bike." Dates are already in place for next year as the Terry Fox Run will take place on September 19 at 1 p.m.
