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Cold Lake residents will have an opportunity to take part in one of Canada’s most enduring fundraising traditions when the annual Terry Fox Run returns to the city on Sunday, September 20.

The local event will take place at the Cold Lake Energy Centre, with participants able to walk, run or cycle while raising funds for cancer research. Registration is scheduled for 9 AM, while the event is due to begin at 10 AM.

The event continues the legacy of Terry Fox, who was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma at age 18 and had his right leg amputated. After seeing the effects of cancer on other patients during his treatment, Fox set out to raise money for cancer research through a cross-country run.

On April 12, 1980, Fox began his Marathon of Hope in St. John’s, Newfoundland, dipping his artificial leg into the Atlantic Ocean before starting his journey west. He ran an average of nearly 42 kilometres a day for 143 days, covering 5,373 kilometres before cancer returned in his lungs and forced him to stop near Thunder Bay, Ontario, on September 1, 1980.

Fox died on June 28, 1981, but his fundraising goal continued. The first Terry Fox Run was held later that year, and the Terry Fox Foundation says the annual event has since raised more than $850 million for cancer research. The foundation’s annual run takes place in more than 650 communities across Canada.

Cold Lake participants can register and support the local event through the Terry Fox Run website.