CALEB NICKERSON
SHAWVILLE Aug. 5, 2020
The long-serving organizers of the Pontiac Terry Fox Run are trying to adapt their annual fundraiser to respect public health guidelines during the pandemic.
Though the official date is still September 20, organizers John Petty and Rick Valin are encouraging participants to . . .
do their own runs and walks throughout the month leading up to it.
He said that those wishing to mark the specific day, which always falls on the third Sunday in September, are welcome to but there will be no formal event.
“As part of the month long celebration that is Terry Fox, we’re going to ask people to go out and do their walk on the 20th,” said Valin. “There’s nothing organized for the high school, there’s no barbeque, there’s no mass start, nothing like that.”
“The model is, ‘Try like Terry,’” added Petty. “When he did it, he did it by himself. We’re asking people to do anything they can leading up to that day, to try and put in some kilometres and to keep his legacy and memory alive.”
This year is the Terry Fox Run’s 40th anniversary edition, though it has been organized for 39 years in the Pontiac.
Valin said that even without their traditional means of getting the word out through local schools, they are doing their best to keep the donations flowing in.
He said there is an app available to help participants keep track of their kilometres over the month, with the goal for the Pontiac being 5,343 km, the same amount Fox travelled during his Marathon of Hope.
Valin said the best way to donate is through e-transfer or by contacting himself or Petty directly.
