After raising $800 for the Terry Fox Foundation and cancer research during her bike ride from Fort Frances to Emo last year, local resident Marie VanUden is gearing up to make that trip again.
On Aug. 28, weather permitting, she will make her trek starting from The Place and ending at the Emo Inn.
She bikes daily and feels it is her way of contributing to the fight against the illness that has claimed the lives of several of her friends and loved ones.
“Lots of people stopped on the highway and gave money toward the cause. People were really nice,” VanUden noted. “And it was amazing the people who came up to me after the ride last year and really gave their support.
“Not necessarily with money, but they thanked me and I didn’t think I did anything that special,” she said.
The Terry Fox Run is held every year across Canada and around the world, usually on the second Sunday after Labour Day, but VanUden got permission from the foundation to do her bike ride earlier to take advantage of the warmer weather.
“The weather was just perfect,” she recalled of last year’s ride. “Terry must have been smiling down.”
VanUden is dedicating this bike ride to her nephew, Marty Vanderaa of Emo, who died from cancer about eight years ago at age 36, and another nephew Mark Tibold who was recently diagnosed with cancer.
She also had a friend Sharon Laroque succumb to the disease two years ago, but her son-in-law Bob Dolzer of Cloquet, Mn. is now in remission.
“When Sharon died, I wanted to do more—it was so horrible, really hard,” she expressed. “I wanted to do more than just a little walk. It’s too important.”
And VanUden feels she has made a difference with her contribution.
“Every dollar makes a difference,” she stressed, adding it would be nice to raise more money than last year.
“Money is good, but even if people are just reminded to say a prayer for the people who are suffering, then I’ve do my part.”
Anyone interested in sponsoring VanUden’s 30 km ride to Emo can contact her at 274-4029.
Or if they’d like to give a donation during her ride—her daughter will be following her in a vehicle for safety—she asks people to write cheques to the Terry Fox Run.
VanUden would also welcome anyone who would like to ride with her, noting perhaps one day many people will join in her bike ride event from Fort Frances to Emo for cancer research.
“I’d like to make it an annual thing as long as I’m able to,” she added.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
