MORRISBURG – Celebrating the 45th anniversary of Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope, local organizers are highlighting some changes for the Morrisburg event on September 14.
“One of the reasons for this is safety,” said Scott Robinson, chair of the local Terry Fox Run group. “The new route will take advantage of the new pathways in the waterfront park, and hopefully encourage more people to come out and take part.”
The route will use the new centre park pathways, along with the outer paths, in a figure-eight route.
“The park looks beautiful, so why not take advantage of it,” Robinson added.
Safety along the previous route has been a concern of organizers for years. That route, which travels west from the waterfront park along Lakeshore Drive through Mariatown to Loyalist Park is five kilometres long. West of Mariatown, the shoulders on the road is narrower – especially along the old canal wall nearing Loyalist Park.
“We want to encourage more people to come out, and improving safety is part of that,” Robinson explained. “The old route to Mariatown is 2.5 kilometres so if runners want to use that, they still can.”
This is the 32nd year for the local Terry Fox Run, and since it began in 1994, nearly $180,000 has been raised to fund cancer research through the Terry Fox Foundation. In 2024, they broke local records by raising over $18,000 through the Morrisburg run, and local school events.
“The support from the community has been fantastic,” Robinson said. “A lot of it comes down to our great volunteers who help put it together.”
Robinson is singling out one volunteer in particular this year, who is retiring from the organization after 20 years – Catherine Lortie.
“Catherine has been a huge help through the years, so we’re recognizing her as she steps down from 20 years here.”
As it is the 45th anniversary of Fox’s Marathon of Hope, there will also be cake at the event for participants. The event will run rain or shine. For in-person participants on September 14, registration at the Morrisburg Legion opens at 8 a.m. with the run beginning around 8:30 a.m.
Robinson said there are a number of team entries taking part in the local run this year and encouraged people to take part in anyway they can.
“Walk, run, cycle, or donate, however you want to help, it is all appreciated,” he said.
Registration can also be completed online, as well as donations made, via the Terry Fox Foundation website at terryfox.org.
There are more than 600 Terry Fox run events held each year across Canada. Since the first Terry Fox Run, more than $950 million has been raised.
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