New look, focus for 40th annual Terry Fox Run
By Woodard, Dale on September 11, 2020.
Dale Woodard
Lethbridge Herald
The 40th anniversary of the Terry Fox Run will be more about the stories than the fundraising.
Marking 40 years since the Marathon of Hope, this year’s race will be taking place Sept. 20.
But with the COVID-19 pandemic preventing in-person participation, this year’s Terry Fox Run for cancer research is moving online, allowing participants to video themselves doing their recreational activity of choice.
Those taking part in the 40th anniversary of the run can still get sponsors and raise funds, but Lethbridge Terry Fox Run co-chair Lorien Johansen said stories and memories about the run’s namesake are the focus this year.
And those memories could very well go on display.
“We’re asking anybody in Lethbridge that has a particular story about Terry or a memory or something that struck a chord, anything to do with the Terry Fox Run in general and resonates with people,” said Johansen. “We’ll be posting those stories onto our Facebook page and Bobbie (Fox, Lethbridge Terry Fox Run co-chair) will also be contacting people for consent to use those things in the 40th Anniversary Terry Fox Exhibit that is going to be opening at the Galt Museum at the end of the month.”
Those stories and the bleak economic reality due to the pandemic set the theme for this year’s run.
“It’s unfortunate that the timing of COVID coincided with the 40th anniversary,” said Johansen. “Bobbie and I decided we would focus more on the stories surrounding Terry Fox rather than the fundraising dollars this year. We really wanted to have people participate without feeling that added pressure to contribute financially if they were unable.”
The main goal, however, is to simply get active and be seen on the local Terry Fox Facebook page.
“We’ll be doing Facebook live judging through our page,” said Johansen. “Whatever physical activity you want to do, whether it’s walking, biking, running, running laps on a track, rollerblading or walking your dog, whatever level of comfort you have to take a video of yourself and post it to our Facebook page.”
As well, a mobile app has been introduced to load onto one’s device and collect pledges.
“I know uncle Terry is doing that,” said Johansen of Terry Fox, Sr., Fox’s uncle and Bobbie’s father-in-law. “He has been wholeheartedly involved in all the Terry Fox Runs for the last 40 years. He’s usually the one that goes to schools. He’s an elderly man, so we’re trying to keep him as safe as possible and not send him out. Things are different this year so we’re going to do everything online. We’ll probably have him on our Facebook page at some point during the day just to talk about the charity.”
For more information on the Terry Fox app visit http://www.terryfox.org.
The Lethbridge Terry Fox Run Facebook page is at https://www.facebook.com/LethbridgeTerryFoxRun.
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