Collingwood residents ran with heart on Sunday in memory of a Canadian hero and for their own personal heroes during the annual Terry Fox Run.
The event, which has been a September staple in Collingwood for several years, took place Sunday, Sept. 15, though the hot, humid day felt more like Aug. 15.
Participants completed running loops on the trails through Harbourview Park, with one runner committing to 25 kilometres. The Awen Water play was busy as more runners finished their laps and cooled off in the water jets.
This year, the event raised more than $17,000 with donations still coming in. Organizers were aiming to collect $20,000 for the 2024 event, but there's still time. You can still donate to the Collingwood Terry Fox Run effort online here.
Terry Fox, who lost his leg and eventually his life to cancer, began his Marathon of Hope, a planned run across Canada starting in Newfoundland, by dipping his artificial leg in the Atlantic Ocean on April 12, 1980. He made it almost across Ontario before he was forced to stop on Sept. 1, having run 5,783 kilometres. He died on June 28 the next year.
It was his goal to raise $1 from every Canadian for cancer research, which has been reached many times over.
All the money raised through Terry Fox Runs is donated to the Terry Fox Foundation for funding cancer research at the Terry Fox Research Institute.
Over the years, Canadians have given more than $900 million in memory of Fox.
