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Reminder: Tri-City residents already raising thousands ahead of virtual 2021 Terry Fox Run

You can run, walk, jog or hike "your way" by Sunday (Sept. 19) to continue the Port Coquitlam hero's 40-year legacy.
Kyle Balzer
Kyle Balzer
TerryFoxRunPortCoquitlam1982PoCoHeritage
The Terry Fox Run in Port Coquitlam in 1982, the first year after the Canadian icon passed away, when residents ran and raised $12,000 for cancer research. The start and finish line was next to the Hyde Creek Recreation Centre.PoCo Heritage Museum and Archives

Terry Fox Runs across the Tri-Cities officially take place Sunday (Sept. 19), but residents are already reeling in the donations.

As of 9:30 a.m. this morning (Sept. 17), nearly $16,000 has been raised for the 2021 event between more than 200 registered participants in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody and Anmore.

For a second consecutive year, the runs are being done on residents' own time and energy due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Regardless of how goals are met, it’ll be a day to remember and honour Terry Fox, the Port Coquitlam hero who ran a marathon a day for 143 days in 1980 to raise money and bring attention to cancer research.

It's been 40 years since the courageous Canadian passed away from his own cancer complications, and 41 years since his hometown hosted its first Terry Fox Run outside Hyde Creek Recreation Centre (pictured above).

This year's theme: “One Day. Your Way.”

Dave Teixeira, the longtime organizer of the Terry Fox Hometown Run — one of the biggest runs in the country with more than 3,000 walkers, runners and cyclists — said the event is a good way to get out with your family or social bubble, exercise and celebrate Terry’s accomplishments.

“We want people to know that Terry’s spirit is alive and well,” he told the Tri-City News. “And I can’t wait to be together again for next year.”

Additionally, an informal in-person walk is scheduled for Sunday, 9 to 11 a.m. along the three-kilometre cart path at Westwood Plateau Golf and Country Club's 12-hole executive course

For those unable to get out on Sunday, you can help the foundation raise cash for cancer research these ways: 

  • On its website: terryfox.org
  • Terry Fox Run mobile fundraising app
  • Text “Terry” to 45678 to give $5, $10 or $25
  • Visit a Terry Fox Foundation tap donation station in a local eatery
  • Purchase a limited edition 2021 Terry Fox Run T-shirt at the following Port Coquitlam businesses...
    • Patina (2332 Marpole Ave.)
    • Save On Foods (2385 Ottawa St.)
    • Save On Foods (1430 Prairie Ave.)

For more information, you're encouraged to visit the Terry Fox Foundation's website.

- with files from Janis Cleugh, Tri-City News