A 'perfect' day

City embraces 25th anniversary of Terry Fox Run

Dennis Smith

Sep 21, 2005

Thanks to ideal circumstances, the Burlington Terry Fox Run has raised nearly $107,000 -- and counting.

The local event's chair believes the total from Sunday's event will probably exceed $110,000 when all contributions are tabulated. Funds raised go toward cancer research.

"It turned out it was a 'perfect storm' of things," said Michael Westcott. "The weather was great, there was a lot of media coverage of the Terry Fox Run's 25th anniversary, and corporate sponsors and Ribfest helped. Everything came through to make it successful."

Publicizing the run at Ribfest on Labour Day weekend help boost the number of participants to 1,155 from 840 the previous year.

"That's a fairly significant increase in terms of the number of participants," said Westcott. "The weather was as good as you could expect. It was wonderful. In the morning it was cool enough when the runners started and it warmed up enough for the community event."

The 10-kilometre run started at 9 a.m. while the community event started between 10:30 a.m. and noon, with those participants covering distances up to 10 kilometres. It was aimed at those using other means of transportation, such as walking or cycling.

The event started at the Beach Strip pumphouse, with the route going to Spencer Smith Park and back.

Highlights included an appearance by baseball hall-of-famer Fergie Jenkins. He threw a ball to Chad Taylor, 9, a cancer survivor and rep baseball player.

"It was a touching moment," said Westcott about Jenkins' appearance. "He's a very nice man and he's a gentleman although he's still pretty imposing physically."

Another strong presence at the event was Aaron's Army, consisting of 175 supporters of Aaron LaRose. His successful struggle against leukemia has inspired many to participate annually in the local Terry Fox Run.

More than 140 run-day volunteers helped at the event, which also featured music and food stations.

"It's a great day and a great way to participate in the community. It's really a party atmosphere," said Westcott. "For committee members and volunteers a lot of work goes into it, but it's worthwhile in terms of the great turnout."

He believes the fun atmosphere will ensure another strong turnout in 2006, the year after the 25th century celebrations.

Schools across Canada held Terry Fox runs last Friday, including 35 schools in Burlington.

It's estimated the school and community runs held in Ontario raised $15 million, up from $9 million last year.

The annual worldwide fundraiser commemorates the 1980 Marathon of Hope, which raised millions for cancer research when Fox ran halfway across Canada despite having an artificial leg.