Jorge Maria
Shawville July 28, 2021
The 40th annual “Pontiac Try Like Terry” run comes back to the Pontiac as COVID restrictions that hindered last year’s run ease.
Less than one month out, organizers of the run expected a repeat of last year. Due to the pandemic, the organization was forced to innovate and held the run virtually in order to prevent the spread of COVID.
Late Friday, co-organizer Rick Valin got the go-ahead from the national Terry Fox Foundation to run a traditional event.
In normal years, the run is held on the second Sunday after Labour Day. With large groups unable to gather, last year’s virtual run tracked runners’ progress over a 40 day period, in honour of the 40th anniversary of the Terry Fox Run.
Participants were free to get their kilometres in by any human-powered method. Kilometres were added and the cumulative total was used to draw the virtual distance travelled across the country.
Since restrictions have eased, the organizers plan for a hybrid of the traditional and virtual. Starting August 9, runners, cyclists, kayakers, canoers, skateboarders and inline skaters will submit their daily kilometres to organizers just like last year. At the end of the 40 days, organizers hope to have a 10 km community walk to finish off the fundraiser. Participants will not be required to complete the full 10 km.
