Due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, this year’s Terry Fox Run in Kingston will happen virtually.
Organizers called it “One Day-Your Way,” and that was very much the case in Kingston West on Sunday, when Rene Bell took to her stationary bike in order to raise funds for cancer research.
“Cancer is so huge and I have family members that have had cancer,” Bell said. “So to me, it’s something that’s near and dear to my heart and so many of my friends have had it, it’s something that I feel is a good fundraiser.”
Sunday marked Bell’s 39th Terry Fox Run. She’s been there since the beginning, even when she was a member of the Canadian Military.
“And I’ll continue to do it until I can’t,” Bell said, “whether it’s just walking with a walker or whatever, I’ll continue to do it until it’s done. I used to run it but I can’t run anymore so now we do this”
Kristi Murphy is the organizer of the Kingston Terry Fox Run.
“Unfortunately, cancer doesn’t wait for COVID-19 to go away and neither can cancer research,” Murphy said.
Going virtual meant different things to different people. Some people still walked in small groups, some rode bicycles. All proceeds from various Terry Fox events go the Terry Fox Foundation
Murphy said it will help to fund important cancer research.
“We here in Kingston have the Queen’s Cancer Research Institute that over the years has received significant grants and funding through the Terry Fox Research Institute,” Murphy said. “So even though the money here goes back to the Terry Fox Foundation — there’s a good portion that comes back into Kingston for the work that is going on at the Queen’s Cancer Research Institute.”
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