Cancer is a disease that has plagued humankind for generations, affecting millions of people every year. On April 2nd, 1980, a 22-year-old young adult who suffered from osteogenic sarcoma (bone cancer) with a goal of raising funds to cure cancer, began a long Marathon of Hope across Canada. He began in Newfoundland and aspired to run all the way to Vancouver. Almost 40 years later, his legacy still lives on as citizens across Canada run in order to raise money for cancer research. For years, St. George’s has also been a part of this tradition to raise awareness for cancer research.

On September 19th, like every year before, the whole school gathered together in Nigel Toy Field for the annual Terry Fox Run. Once the signal was called, the race began. After running around Nigel Toy Field once, the boys began heading towards St. George’s trail for the rest of the run. The Run in total was around 4km and while the students were running, music was played by our Saints musicians as some of the teachers cheered while observing.

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Christopher Ma

Nick Slater running at the Terry Fox Run

It was not long until the first student, Julian Black (grade 12), came running back

and became the winner of this year’s Terry Fox Run. Overall, the race was a success with the weather being sunny and perfect for a run. In the end, all the money earned from the race was donated to the Terry Fox Foundation with Saints raising an amount of money which will be announced in a later date.

Reflecting on his first Terry Fox Run, Mike Ma (10) shared his thoughts with The Creed: “The Terry Fox Run was a very interesting and fun concept. What’s more, this is all for a great cause as we were raising funds for Cancer Research.”

Ms. Kelly Bodutch, the Head of Student Health at St. George’s, also shared similar sentiments: “I have been doing this run for almost 11 years. I think it’s a great cause in order to support cancer awareness and how one man brought the world’s attention to stopping cancer. Every year when I run, I think about my grandmother who fought cancer. It’s a great reflection to what people have done thus far.”

Finally, running for his final year at Saints, Jacky Zhao (12), who has run since he was in kindergarten, shared his thoughts: “I’m probably still going to run when I am in university as I have already been running since kindergarten. I remember that the first 6 or 7 years of school, it was just part of the schedule. As I grew older, teachers started to explain the significance of the run and Terry Fox. Now I see it as a day where you try your best running for Terry Fox and it’s a great way to fund cancer research.”

Terry Fox has always been a beacon of hope for all those who are fighting cancer. He has also given those wishing to help a way for them to do so in the journey to defeat cancer for good. If you wish to join the cause and wish to donate or just simply want to learn more about cancer research, you can do so at the Terry Fox Foundation website at http://www.terryfox.org.