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Terry Fox Run signs are now up in Tillsonburg, a reminder there is still time to join on Sunday, Sept. 20 or make an online donation.
“Everyone can participate, absolutely,” said Shelley Imbeault, Tillsonburg Terry Fox Run co-ordinator. “There’s still time to sign up, there’s still time to donate.”
Now in its 40th year, the Run is a fundraiser for the Terry Fox Foundation, which raises money for cancer research (www.terryfox.org).
Fox, who was diagnosed with bone cancer in 1977 and had his right leg amputated just above the knee, decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research in 1980. By Feb. 1, 1981, he had realized his dream of raising $1 for every Canadian ($24.17 million).
The 22-year-old athlete was forced to end his marathon near Thunder Bay on Sept. 1, 1980. He died in June 1981, the year of the first Terry Fox Run.
Seven years later, the Terry Fox Run became a Trust, independent from the Canadian Cancer Society, and each year it has raised close to $20 million for discovery-based research in Canada.