On September 1, 1979, Terry Fox took part in The Prince George to Boston Marathon, now called the Labour Day Classic.
That was 40 years ago, making the 46th Labour Day Classic that much more special as runners tied up their laces at Canada Games Plaza in downtown Prince George.
“It was where Terry Fox decided that he was ready to begin his Marathon of Hope,” said Dennis Straussfogel, Race Director for the Labour Day Classic. “If he had not run this race in 1979, this is according to his good friend Doug Alward, he probably wouldn’t have started his Marathon of Hope because he didn’t really think he was ready. He started, of course, the following spring in 1980.”
The race first ran back in 1974 by Tom Masich. As Straussfogel explained, that year, the first-place finisher won an all-inclusive trip to Boston to participate in the marathon then, ultimately coining the name of Prince George to Boston Marathon. The actual race was run from Salmon Valley to Prince George, but was then changed to be ran within the city limits.
This year, while associated in past year’s events, marked the first year that the Prince George Road Runners were event directors and organizers.
Straussfogel, who’s organized the race himself since becoming the director, said it’s good for the race as there was some concern surrounding whether the race would even continue due to questions surrounding volunteers and everything else that’s associated with putting on an event.
Given the history of the event, Gillian Roberts, Vice President of the PG Road Runners, said it’s important to continue to have events such as the Labour Day Classic.
“It’s so important, it’s important for passing on that history to further generations and educating them about the history, such as the great things that Terry Fox did. The fact that we have this great connection to him just ties Prince George to him and is something we should be very proud of. These events we can’t lose because people need to know about his history, and it’s amazing how many people don’t know about this awesome connection that we have.”
As Roberts added, that connection is heavily used in the promotion of the race, highlighting the opportunity to quite literally run in the footsteps of Terry Fox.
As for the actual race itself, Andy Wan was first (1:54:11) to cross the finish line for the 17-mile run. Tabetha Neudorf was the first woman to have finished the 17-mile race, crossing the line with a time of 2:28:10.
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
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