Next month will see the 45th annual Terry Fox Run in Prince George.
Prince George holds a special connection to Terry Fox and the Marathon of Hope.
“Terry Fox ran on the streets of Prince George in 1979 in the Prince George to Boston Marathon,” said Lead Organizer Sylvia Masich.
“He told his mom that he was training for the Vancouver Sun Run and this was the only road race during the month of September in the province. His best friend Doug had family up here, so Terry, Doug and his brother Darryl all drove up to take part in the PG to Boston, and what most people didn’t realize is that Terry had the thought in the back of his mind that he’s going to run across Canada for cancer research, and it was after running, not the 8.5 mile race, the 17 mile race here in Prince George, that Terry knew he was ready to embark on his Marathon of Hope in the spring.”
The run almost didn’t happen in 2023, but Masich stepped in to organize the event.
Since then, she’s been rebuilding the event.
“That first year we saw about 100 participants, and then last year we saw just over 300 participants,” she said.
“This year, it would be really cool to triple that to 900, but even if we see 500, 600 people out there, that would be incredible.”
Masich said they’re hoping to make it bigger and better this year.
“It is the 45th year anniversary of the Marathon of Hope,” she said.
“We’re hoping to have some games, some more refreshments for people just to make it more of a bigger event feel.”
The run takes place September 14th at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park.
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
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