Terry Fox runs attracted thousands of Canadians who ran, walked or biked in remembrance of the young man behind the Marathon of Hope to end cancer.
Cyclist Reg Devonshire, 84, and six of his friends from a North York gym, took part in the Terry Fox Run at Cedarbrook Park, in the Markham Rd.-Lawrence Ave. area — one of 750 such events held across Canada.
The former police officer said he has been biking in Terry Fox runs since 2007.
“About eight or 10 years ago, four of us decided to do this and it just grew,” Devonshire said.
“We now have over 100 people who are contributing, and we’ve raised over $8,000 today.”
Last year, he and his enthusiastic friends raised over $7,000 at the Scarborough run site. They initially began doing it for a friend who is a cancer survivor.
“He’s still alive and he’s still working and running and doing Terry Fox,” Devonshire said. “We do it because of him.”
Martha McClew, Ontario director of the Terry Fox Foundation, reported a “slight increase” in the number of runners this year.
“Participation numbers are up, which is always a great find for us,” she said.
Last year, 75,000 participants in Ontario raised $12.5 million. As of May of this year, the foundation raised over $650 million for cancer research.
“It’s really, I think, become a great Canadian tradition,” McClew said.
Sunday marked the 34th year since Terry Fox began his Marathon of Hope across the country to raise awareness and funds for research into the disease that eventually killed him before his 23rd birthday.
His father, Rolly Fox, took part in three runs in the GTA, marking his first time he took part in one outside of British Columbia.
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