Brandon Terry Fox Run keeps growing

The 2026 Terry Fox Run attracted about 250 runners and walkers at Brandon University on Sunday morning.

The annual event continues to bring together participants of different ages in support of cancer research.

This year’s turnout was up from about 200 participants last year, Heather Stewart, who has helped organize the Brandon run for 11 years, said.

“We definitely have an increased participation,” Stewart said. “I think having it at the university, we have an increased age span. We have newborns to, I think, my dad would probably be the oldest one here, and he’s 92.”

The growth in participants has been matched by donations: from just over $2,000 in 2015 to more than $13,000 raised as of Sunday afternoon for this year’s event.

Participants could choose a one-, two-, five- or 10-kilometre route. The five-kilometre course travelled from Brandon University toward Louise Avenue and Coronation Park before continuing along Victoria Avenue and the 34th Street bike path, with participants returning through Pacific Avenue and 26th Street.

Stewart said the event’s growth reflects the continuing impact of Terry Fox’s legacy and his commitment to helping others.

“I think that Terry Fox’s spirit of giving and generosity and helping out his fellow person is just something that we can’t … lose,” she told the Sun. “He was such a remarkable young man. He did everything that he did for others, and I think that spirit is definitely shining through in Canadians these days.”

The run also featured a connection to someone who witnessed a significant moment in Fox’s Marathon of Hope.

Brandon Search and Rescue member Brian Wiltshire was 13 when his mother took him and his brother to St. John’s, N.L., to see Fox.

“I was born in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and when Terry Fox left St. John’s, my mother took my brother and I down to see him dip his leg in the harbour in 1980 and then start at Mile Zero at the city hall in St. John’s,” Wiltshire told the Sun.

Wiltshire said he and his brother did not initially understand the significance of what they were witnessing because Fox’s journey was just beginning.

“As it progressed across Canada, you start realizing how big an event it was,” he said.

More than four decades later, Wiltshire was back at a Terry Fox Run, this time providing first aid and safety support through Brandon Search and Rescue.

“It’s part of Canadian history. It’s part of our culture now,” he said. He has participated in Terry Fox runs in Canada and overseas, including Afghanistan.

The event also brought together people with personal connections to cancer research and Fox’s story.

Twenty-year-old Makayla Van Damme, who lost her leg to a non-cancerous tumour nearly two years ago, spoke to participants before the run.

She said taking part in the event has helped her channel her experience into raising awareness and supporting cancer research.

“I had a really hard time at first because I didn’t really have anyone to look up to,” Van Damme said. “Over the last couple of years, being involved in the run, being able to help raise money and awareness for cancer research has been something that I’ve been able to put my energy into when I really didn’t know what else to do.”

Booster Juice Brandon owner Tom Price also returned to an event with which he has a long history. Price, who has operated the business for 15 years, said he participated in Brandon’s first Terry Fox Run in 1980 while playing for the Brandon University Bobcats.

He recalled being required by his coach to complete a 10-kilometre run.

“It was just such a new thing, you really didn’t know what was going to come out of it,” Price told the Sun. “And now here we are, 40-some years later, and it’s just as strong as ever.”

Price supported this year’s participants by providing smoothies.

For Frances Krinke, an oncology nurse who now works in Regina, the five-kilometre run was personal. She returned to Brandon, where her family lives, to participate for the second time.

“I ran for my uncle and my aunt. Those are two people in my life that have cancer,” Krinke said.

She said her work also gives her a close connection to the families affected by cancer.

“Obviously, the job that I do, I see a lot of families and patients,” she said.

Stewart said the run’s continued success is supported by volunteers, sponsors and the wider community, including Co-op, Booster Juice, Forbidden Flavours and Canadian Tire.

“We’re becoming more and more connected with Brandon University, which is really building on that youth spirit, because they’re the people that are going to be carrying Terry Fox’s message and his legacy forward,” Stewart said.

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