Canora Composite School was one of thousands of schools across the country to participate in the Terry Fox Run.
The school’s run was meant to take place on September 29, but due to the school’s evacuation, the run was rescheduled for October 3. The bad weather was an issue, said Dustin Neilsen, teacher and organizer for the Terry Fox Run, but the students ran inside the school to ensure they could participate without having to walk in the rain.
Grades 5 and 6 students ran in the gym, grades 7, 8 and 9 students ran in the auditorium, and grades 10, 11 and 12 ran in the main hallway of the school. Every student present at the school participated in the run, which was being held for its second year at Canora Composite School.
Students were encouraged to make a donation to the Terry Fox Foundation in the days leading up to the event.
For the donations, each student received a sticker, which read “I’m Running For (blank).” Students were allowed to fill their stickers in with the name of a friend, relative, or other important person who was affected by cancer to dedicate their run to them.
The Terry Fox Foundation was formed in 1988 in memory of Terry Fox, a man who was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma or bone cancer in 1977. Fox had his leg amputated above the knee, and while in the hospital, he was moved by the ordeal other cancer patients had to go through that he decided to run across Canada and raise money for cancer research in a run called the Marathon of Hope.
In 1980, Fox began his Marathon of Hope and ran an average of 42 kilometres every day for 143 days. He unfortunately had to end his run on September 1, but by that point, he had run from St. John’s, Nfld. all the way to Thunder Bay, Ont., a total of 5,373 kilometres.
By February 1, 1981, Fox had accomplished his dream of raising one dollar for every Canadian citizen and had a total of $24.17 million to donate. He died in June of 1981 at the age of 22, but since then, the Terry Fox Run has been held annually in his name and has raised over $650 million.
The Terry Fox Foundation is able to donate $20 million a year to cancer research in Canada, and has since donated to the Terry Fox Research Institute to work for finding a cure for cancer.
