Some 200 students from École secondaire Sieur-de-Coulonge spent the afternoon of Sept. 25 walking, and some sprinting, a nine kilometre loop to raise money for cancer research, joining the hundreds of students and community members across the Pontiac who took part in a Terry Fox run at some point in September. 

Shepherded by local fire departments, students traveled from their high school in Mansfield down through the village of Fort-Coulonge and back again, pumping music through portable speakers and cheering themselves on as they went. 

This was the second year the school hosted a Terry Fox run after a brief hiatus when the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the tradition. 

Jeremy Labine, the school’s leisure coordinator, said he restarted the annual fundraiser walk because he believes Terry Fox is an important role model. 

“Terry Fox is such a person who fought and persevered. The kids sometimes forget that even if you fail, never let go. That’s the message. Always run or always walk towards your goal,” Labine said. 

“That’s the main reason I want to do it every year. It’s not easy to do, and you need perseverance to finish it, because we only have two hours, give or take, to make that walk.” 

Labine said the event  is also an opportunity for the school, which sits on the outskirts of town, to have more of a presence in the community. 

“Sometimes on the top of the hill, people forget that we’re there,” he said. “But doing an event like this and going down and making some noise for a good cause, it makes for some good visibility.”

The event raised $600 for the cause.