Participating in the annual Terry Fox walk/run has become a family affair for the Enns family.
Judy Enns, her daughter Tasha, and seven-year-old granddaughter Katerina Fisher will once again be lacing up their running shoes this Sunday for the local event.
“It’s just nice to support each other and get out and do something together,” said Judy. “It’s also kind of nice seeing a wide generation of people out there supporting the cause.”
The five-kilometre walk/run from the recreation centre kicks off at 9 a.m., with registration at 8:30. Participants will head down Kawkawa Lake Rd. towards the Trans Canada Trail and Kawkawa Lake area, before looping back to the recreation centre.
“It’s a very nice route. It’s 45 minutes out of your day, out of your year,” said Tasha, who has been participating in the event since high school. “Terry Fox is my hero. Just his courageous battle, what he started out as and what he is now. It gives me a little bit of hope that there are good people trying to make a difference.”
Thirty-one years ago Terry Fox embarked on his Marathon of Hope, dipping his prosthetic leg into the Atlantic Ocean in St. John’s, N.L. After running 42 kilometers a day for 143 days, he was forced to stop when cancer spread to his lungs. Since then, millions of people around the world have kept his dream alive with more than 9,000 runs organized every year. To date, the Terry Fox Foundation has raised over $600 million for cancer research worldwide.
In Hope, the walk/run typically attracts 40-50 people. However, event organizer Kim Richardson said the number is growing every year.
“I think there’s a bigger awareness about cancer and the good work that the Terry Fox Foundation has done,” she said. “It’s a way to give back, a way to show your support and show that you care. Most of us have been affected by cancer, if not directly, indirectly. We can become united and perhaps there’s an opportunity to conquer it.”
Participants can bring donations or pledges to the local walk/run on Sunday, or drop them off at the recreation centre. Fruit and refreshments will be available.