In spite of chilly temperatures, approximately 260 students and teachers from Canora Composite School (CCS) were involved in the hour-long Terry Fox Run at the CCS track on September 28. But when the temperatures dropped further and the rain began to fall just as the students and staff from Canora Junior Elementary School (CJES) arrived for their turn, the decision was made to hold the CJES Terry Fox Run indoors. Approximately 160 CJES students and a number of staff spent about an hour running and walking in the CCS auditorium and gymnasium, all in support of the Terry Fox Foundation.
Dustin Nielson, CCS teacher, said all students and staff were encouraged to contribute a toonie, a loonie, or whatever they could to support the cause in helping to find a cure for cancer.
Nielson said CCS teachers asked their students to talk to their parents about the effects of cancer.
“They should have conversations at home about who in their family has had cancer,” he said. “We find that almost every family has been affected by cancer in some way.”
CCS students were given stickers which said, “Terry Fox ran for me, I’m running for…” and each student wrote in the name of the person or people they chose to run for during the Terry Fox Run.
Nielsen brought up the Terry Fox quote where he once said that, "Even if I don't finish, we need others to continue. It's got to keep going." Unfortunately, he had to stop his Marathon of Hope at Thunder Bay Ontario when cancer spread to his lungs.
Nielsen and other organizers kept track of how many laps were run/walked/jogged by the CCS and CJES groups during the day.
“The total was an impressive 1700 km,” he said. “Picking up from where Terry ended (Thunder Bay, Ont,), we would have been able to make it all the way to Medicine Hat Alberta.”
Leson's Funeral Home and Crossroads Credit Union supplied the participants with nutritious snacks and water.
