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Arctic Bay event brings out 143 for Terry Fox Run

The late Terry Fox said one of his hopes was to have every Canadian donate one dollar to help in the fight against cancer.

Arctic Bay, like hundreds of other locales around Canada, took part in the annual Terry Fox Run on Sept. 15. A total of 143 participants registered in the North Baffin community, according to Thomas Levi, Arctic Bay’s recreation co-ordinator and co-organizer of the event.

Several of the 143 registered participants of the Terry Fox Run in Arctic Bay hit the streets to either walk or run on Sept. 15. photo courtesy of Thomas Levi

“I drove the fire truck around town with the siren and Roxanne Kigutaq and I talked on the microphone announcing where people could register and when the run will start,” Levi said.

He also said he had been advertising the run on the community radio station for a week and also put up information on local bulletin boards.

There were certificates for everyone who completed the run or walk but not everyone got a certificate.

That’s because they ran out, said Levi, but there was a quick solution to that problem.

“For kids that we ran out of certificates for, we gave them ribbons (and) they were just as happy, too,” he said.

Arctic Bay Mayor Frank May walks with one of the younger participants during the community’s annual Terry Fox Run on Sept. 15. photo courtesy of Thomas Levi

The total raised from the run was $159.11 but when you add in the $150 raised by the golf tournament which happened the weekend before, that total becomes $309.11.

The golf tournament normally happens on the same day as the run but Levi said the golf tournament was held a week earlier than normal because it always seems to snow on the day of the tournament.

The work done by Levi and company in Arctic Bay didn’t go unnoticed by the Terry Fox Foundation in Calgary.

Christie Krawchuk, the foundation’s co-ordinator of community events and fundraising, said seeing Arctic Bay’s work is a testament to what Fox wanted.

“The run reaches far and wide and even 39 years after the Marathon of Hope, there’s still huge involvement,” she said. “It’s become a part of Canadian history and even small communities like Arctic Bay taking part on that one day of the year is fantastic. It shows that they still honour Terry’s legacy.”

The event in Arctic Bay may not be the biggest one in Canada and it may not raise the same amount of money as other larger centres in the country but every little bit helps, she added.

“It’s still the same event and it goes back to what Terry said about every Canadian donating that one dollar,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be a big event – you can cater it to the size of the community – and no matter what you raise, the bigger thing is that you’re raising awareness.”

Levi was happy with how things turned out and he plans to be ready for the 2020 run.

“If we are hosting another run next year, I want to have 150 certificates,” he said.

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Several of the 143 registered participants of the Terry Fox Run in Arctic Bay hit the streets to either walk or run on Sept. 15. photo courtesy of Thomas Levi