Duane Hicks
Local OPP Community Services Officer Cst. Anne McCoy will be part of a team of 50-60 members participating in the Winnipeg Police half-marathon run on Sunday, May 6.
Cst. McCoy will be part of the team known as “OPP–Cruising For a Cure,” which consists of OPP officers and their families from many detachments in the North West Region who collectively are raising funds for the Canadian Cancer Society.
Runners will participate in the half-marathon and the two-person relay half-marathon.
Members also will be supporting the team by working one of the water stations along the route.
Cst. McCoy decided to participate after Kenora OPP Cst. Dave Cain alerted her to the “OPP–Cruising For a Cure” team.
Cst. Miranda Duggan, of the Kenora OPP detachment, has been responsible for gathering the team.
While she keeps regularly exercised and keeps fit, Cst. McCoy conceded she had never participated in a half-marathon (which is 21 km in length) before and saw it as a personal goal.
But she also is running after being personally inspired by a young friend of the family who has been battling cancer.
Connor McKinnon, 10, of Thunder Bay was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma (a rare form of cancer).
He had to undergo 48 radiation sessions and 52 weeks of chemotherapy, staying at the Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto.
McKinnon is now back at home in Thunder Bay, where Cst. McCoy and her family have visited him.
“Connor is an amazing kid,” she remarked, adding he is “positive and inspiring” and teaches life lessons to people, such as how it’s important to live for today and how one can’t take anything for granted.
Cst. McCoy is spending some leave time this month to “do a lot of running” in preparation for the half-marathon. But equally as important, she’ll use that time to slow down and spend it with her kids.
She noted everyone has been touched by cancer in some way, including several members of her own family. And in addition to supporting the fight against cancer itself, people must strive to support individuals coping with cancer and their families.
She added that McKinnon’s mother conveyed the message to her that if a loved on is diagnosed with cancer, don’t be afraid of the diagnosis.
Don’t give up on your loved one who has been diagnosed. Don’t stop visiting them—and don’t stop letting them know you’re there for them.
Community members wanting to support the OPP team can sign a pledge sheet at the Fort Frances, Rainy River, and Atikokan detachments.
