Participants share why they support the Terry Fox Run

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This article was published 16/09/2024 (447 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

More than four decades after the Marathon of Hope, Brandonites kept its spirit alive on Sunday morning at the local Terry Fox Run.

In memory of Fox running the equivalent of a marathon a day to raise money for cancer research during his 1980 cross-country Marathon of Hope, people around Canada hold runs every year to keep pushing for a cure.

People of all ages, some with their dogs, assembled in front of Brandon University’s John E. Robbins Library to hear a little about Fox and participate in warmups led by the Bobcats women’s volleyball team before setting off on one-, two-, five- or 10-kilometre journeys.

Event co-ordinator Heather Stewart said she had counted roughly 200 people participating in this year’s run. That included Stewart’s own 90-year-old father and a 71-year-old woman celebrating her birthday by doing the five-kilometre route with her granddaughter.

As the participants returned to the library from their sojourns, the Sun spoke with a few of them about why it was important for them to participate in the run.

Brenda Kerswell, one of the event’s volunteers, went for a quick walk before returning to the home base. She said she first got involved in the Terry Fox Run 25 to 30 years ago in Dauphin.

Like many of the participants, Kerswell wore a sticker stating who she was running for. As a retired nurse, her run was dedicated to fellow nurses who care for cancer patients.

“I was impressed,” she said of this year’s crowd. “I think Heather must have done a lot of promotion. It was bigger than last year and I give her full kudos for that.

Norma Edwards said she was also a 25-year or more veteran of the Terry Fox Run.

“I just think it’s such an important thing for us to keep putting money towards research,” Edwards said. “Cancer affects everyone and Terry Fox was a hero.”

She said she and her husband, another participant, have lost many friends and family members to cancer and cancer research has endured as a cause close to their hearts.

BU’s new dean of arts, Greg Kennedy, said he set a new personal best time for a five-kilometre run. While he’d participated in Terry Fox Runs in New Brunswick, Ontario and Nova Scotia, this was his first in Brandon.

“Brandon is such a beautiful city,” he said. “Being able to run along 26th and 34th (streets) using the city loop with all the trees, all the shade, is really a lovely route.”

With the run serving as one of the final events in the university’s Homecoming celebrations, he said it was wonderful to see students, alumni and faculty come out to support a community event.

Cancer has also touched his life. He said both of his spouse’s parents were lost to cancer and he has lost aunts, uncles and cousins.

Next year, he said he hopes even more people will come out.

As of 5 p.m. Sunday, the Terry Fox Foundation’s website said the Brandon campaign had raised $13,858 of its $16,000 goal. However, Stewart said in an email Sunday afternoon that when the donations given in person on Sunday are added, the total raised was around $18,000.

“Can’t wait until next year when we celebrate with the 45th year!” she said in the email.

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