Dear Editor,
Organizers of the Terry Fox Run were faced with unusual circumstances in 2020 and like much of society had to change their approach due to the COVID pandemic. No more gatherings meant finding a safe and new way to proceed — was the priority of the committee to honour the 40th anniversary of the run.
The motto “Try like Terry” became the . . .
theme and presented a daunting challenge. The hope was to find a group of walkers, bikers, golfers, runners, kayakers, etc. who would keep track of the kilometeres spent exercising from Aug. 22 to Sept. 30. Any type of activity was encouraged as long as it could be converted to distance. The 40 day period was chosen to celebrate the 40 years of the National Terry Fox event.
Individually, we could not match the heroics of Terry but tabulating our mileage together gave us a chance and we had hoped to equal his distance of 5,773 km. before he succumbed to illness in Thunder Bay, Ont.
Terry’s Marathon of Hope began in 1980 when he dipped his artificial leg in the Atlantic Ocean. The “Try like Terry” group was strongly supported by our two local newspapers who tracked the groups’ progress weekly in our efforts to emulate Terry’s journey from the east coast of Canada. When Terry’s journey ended in Ontario he said, “If I cannot finish this journey, I need others to continue.” That is what the “Try like Terry” group attempted to do. This dedicated contingent — numbering about 60 strong were committed to the cause.
Terry’s passion, perseverance and sheer will and determination were often in action from the many exercise enthusiasts who helped out.
As a group they inspired each other to go that extra kilometer further. As of Wednesday, Sept. 30, the group had well surpassed Terry’s figure of 5,773 km and logged in at 8,254.30 km.
Hats off to a job well done by the “Terry Fox Contingent”. These efforts set the stage for Pontiac to head the Terry Fox event in 2021. The monetary figures were amazing also — as of Sept.. 28, people in the Pontiac had contributed $6,885 towards cancer research. Donations will be accepted until mid-October.
Thanks to the Journal, THE EQUITY, Les Amis du PPJ, Hello Shawville, Rick Valin and all the participants who “Made Things Happen.”
John Petty,
Shawville, Que
