After raising more than $762,000 over the past 45 years, organizers of the Kenora Terry Fox Run are hoping to reach $1 million by the event’s 50th anniversary.
The 46th annual run takes place Sunday, Sept. 20, at Valleyview School. Kenora has held a Terry Fox Run every year since 1980, and last year the community raised more than $60,000, the highest total in the local run’s history.
“It’s a lot of money for a community this size,” lead organizer Laurine Goerzen told the Miner and News.
“So if we can keep fundraising hard like we have been, we should be able to do that,” Goerzen said.
The Kenora run has seen its fundraising totals climb steadily in recent years, from about $31,000 in 2021 to $35,000 in 2022, $41,000 in 2023, $53,000 in 2024 and more than $60,000 last year.
“We wouldn’t have those results without everybody supporting us, from donating things for the auction to sponsoring people, making donations, participating, buying shirts,” Goerzen said.
Last year, Moncrief Construction Limited matched up to $3,000 in online donations during the week leading up to the run. Goerzen said it made Kenora the first Terry Fox Run site in Canada to have a local matching donor.
Several fundraisers are planned ahead of this year’s run, including the annual online auction from Sept. 9 to 17. Items have been donated by local businesses, organizations and individuals, along with two donations from Winnipeg this year.
Bracken’s Books is also holding a used book sale from Sept. 15 to 20, with all proceeds going to the Kenora Terry Fox Run. It is the first time the fundraiser has been held.
“One of the committee members came up with the idea and approached Bracken’s Books, and they said they’d love to do that for us,” Goerzen said.
“Since we’ve never done it before, we don’t know what to expect. But I know people have been donating a lot of great books to it.”
Book donations can be dropped off at Bracken’s Books or Myers Dockside until Sept. 15.
Goerzen has been involved with the Terry Fox Run in Kenora almost from the beginning. This year will be her 45th. She missed the first run in 1980 and jokes, “I’ve been kicking myself ever since.” She took part the following year and later became a volunteer.
“I’ve seen lots of people who have been affected by cancer,” she said. “I’ve seen a lot of loss, but I’ve also seen improvements in the treatments and the outcomes. I think it’s a worthy fight.”
“Of course, how can Terry Fox not inspire you?”
One participant will mark his 46th run this year, while Goerzen said many others have been involved for 20 or 30 years.
“We have a lot of people that have been doing the run for many years,” she said. “And then we have lots of new people every year. We hope that they become longtime participants as well.”
“The schools do a really good job of keeping Terry and his message alive,” Goerzen said, adding that she has heard from parents whose children learned about Fox at school and then wanted their families to take part in the run.
Many participants also come out because of their own connection to cancer. Goerzen said teams take part in memory of someone who has died, in honour of someone who has survived cancer or in support of someone who is still going through treatment.
“Everyone has been touched by cancer,” she said. “There’s so far to go in the fight against cancer, but we’ve come a long way.”
The five-kilometre route starts at Valleyview School, follows Valley Drive and Rabbit Lake Road to the gazebo on the northwest side of Rabbit Lake, and then returns to the school. Participants can complete one or more loops or turn around at any point.
People can walk, run, rollerblade, wheel or bike the route, either individually or as part of a family or team.
“The run’s not competitive,” Goerzen said. “There’s no specific amount you have to raise, and there’s no entry fee. Everyone’s welcome.”
Registration is available online through the Terry Fox Foundation or at Valleyview School from 8 to 9 a.m. on the day of the run. The run begins at 9 a.m.
Rabbit Lake Road will be restricted to local traffic from 8 a.m. to noon on the day of the run.
More information is available on the Kenora Terry Fox Run’s Facebook and Instagram pages or by emailing kenoraterryfoxrun@gmail.com.
