Weather didn’t stop people from participating in Guelph’s Terry Fox Run

It was a successful Terry Fox Run in Guelph.

The September 18th fundraising event at Silvercreek Park raised an estimated $58,000 for cancer research.

It was also the first in-person event since 2019, with about 300 to 350 people taking part in the Guelph event this year, according to one of the organizers, David Picard.

“I would say it was down a bit but I was thankful that anybody showed up,” said Picard. “I’ve often said that even if there was no race, people would show up because it was the Terry Fox Run.”

Picard adds he hopes more people will come out to the run next year.

Executive Director of the Terry Fox Foundation, Michael Mazza, echoed Picard’s comments.

“Our volunteers have been instrumental in the success of the Terry Fox Foundation, especially in the last two years of uncertainty we all faced,” said Mazza.

There was the threat of rain in the southern Ontario area for the event. Some areas did get wet but it didn’t seem to dampen the spirits of the participants.

“I’ve been doing it for over 20 years at the Guelph site,” said Picard. “We’ve got it down to a routine formula. Having said that, there are always things that come up but we were pretty bug-free this time.”

This was the 42nd annual Terry Fox Run, with events being held in close to 600 communities across Canada. In a news release from the Terry Fox Foundation, more than $850 million has been raised to date.

“I remember meeting Derek Fox, Terry’s brother, at one of the workshops we had 10 years ago,” Picard recalled. “He said if Terry had developed cancer now, he would not have lost his leg because detection and treatment of cancer has advanced so much.”