The annual Terry Fox runs drew hundreds of Tri-City residents for its four runs on Sunday, including in Fox's hometown of Port Coquitlam.
But the heavy rain kept participation and fundraising lower than usual, said Coquitlam resident Donna White who is the provincial director of the Terry Fox Foundation.
"I don’t have firm figures until the funds come in," she told The Tri-City News on Monday. "I do know that it appears the weather affected us for sure as the rain kept people away and merchandise sales were down."
Still, "those who came out did so because they know that Terry ran in all types of weather."
Dave Teixeira, the hometown run organizer in Port Coquitlam, said the poor weather resulted in about 60% fewer participants and donations over last year “but we continue to receive online donations,” he said.
About 1,200 people showed up to hear keynote speaker Deb Middleton talk about her cancer journeys and Bruce Moore — Terry Fox’s high school soccer coach and also a cancer survivor — rally the crowd.
In Port Moody, Mayor Mike Clay, who was responsible for the Terry Fox Run at Rocky Point Park, also remarked on the low attendance of 200 people. Still, about $3,500 came in at the run site and another $3,300 was collected online.
Brewers Row — aka Parkside Brewery, Twin Sails, Yellow Dog and Moody Ales — also gathered $2,000 for the cause.
Meanwhile, Erin Davidson, co-organizer of the Coquitlam run in Mundy Park, said her group brought in more than $10,000 "to support Terry's dream to cure cancer and support research."
Runs were held across the country for the 38th year. To donate to the Terry Fox Foundation, visit terryfox.org.
