By Ryan Horne
Guelph Tribune

The legacy of a late Canadian great, who ran across the country on an artificial leg for his Marathon of Hope awareness campaign, will again be honoured this weekend.
The Terry Fox Run for Cancer Research will be making its way through the Royal City for a 31st time on Sunday Sept. 16. The run will be held in Silvercreek Park at the corner of Wellington Road West and Edinburgh Street South. Start time is at 8 a.m. and it goes to noon.
David Picard, Guelph Terry Fox organizer, expects 400 participants to come out this year, but said there is no set goal for the amount of money to be raised.
“We just want people to come out and support Terry,” he said.
Last year, participants in the Terry Fox Run raised $32,533, which makes a current grand total of $690,398 since the run started in 1982. Guelph schools are responsible for about two-thirds of the total amount raised every year, said Picard. Last year, Guelph schools raised $65,757.
“They raise quite a bit of money,” Picard understated.
Pledge forms can be picked up at any TD Canada Trust in Guelph, Dino’s Athletic Direct on Wyndham Street, Running Room on Kortright Road and Running Works on Quebec Street.
The Guelph Terry Fox Run has a Facebook page where you can communicate with other participants of the run. You can check out last year’s Terry Fox run on YouTube.
Terry Fox’s older brother, Fred, will be in Guelph on Sept. 24 and will be giving speeches to students at Centennial high school and Willow Road school. He will talk about his brother’s journey and his motivation for running across Canada.
“Terry Fox is a very ordinary person, but he had the drive to get the run done after he lost a leg to cancer,” said Picard, who first saw Fred Fox speak at a workshop in Toronto and thought he should share his stories here in Guelph.
Picard hopes to add a couple more schools to the slate when Fred visits next week.
For more information, contact Picard at 519-831-2357 or dgp@frontlinesafety.ca.
Rockwood run also Sunday
The Rockwood Terry Fox goes Sunday as well from noon until 2 p.m. The run will start at Waterside Park on Highway 7, and the route will be determined depending on construction on the highway. Pledge forms are available around Rockwood or online at http://www.terryfox.org/. For more information, email ssthomson@live.ca.