Terry Fox run held in Simcoe County

Hundreds of people participated in the annual Terry Fox run on Sunday, with events held in communities throughout Simcoe County.

In Barrie, the annual event kicked off at 9 a.m. at the downtown waterfront, with participants spending the morning walking to raise money for cancer research and for those who have battled cancer in their lives.

“I’m walking for my sister, my father-in-law and my mother-in-law, it is a yearly event we come out to every year, just to remember them,” said Khai Ma, Barrie resident.

It was 43 years ago that Terry Fox began his cross-country run for cancer research, and since then, Canadians have raised more than 850 million dollars, according to the Terry Fox Foundation.

While participants continue to raise money each year, Canadians of all ages have been vital contributors to the organization, such as grade four student Holden Baks.

Baks, who is from Barrie, has raised more than four thousand dollars on his own for the second straight year.

“My dad had cancer when I was very young, so I wanted to run for him yearly,” said Baks.

While Baks is raising money at his young age, other significant contributors to the Terry Fox Foundation have been members of the Dwyer family.

Will Dwyer helped to raise over one million dollars for the Terry Fox Foundation through yearly runs before his death in 2022.

His son Bob Dwyer is hoping to honour his father and the legacy he left behind by continuing to raise money ahead of the annual run.

“It is unbelievable how people reach out and support the cause, it is incredible, we need more young people to start fundraising, and it looks like we’ve got it here,” said Dwyer.

In addition to the Barrie run, the city of Orillia also held its own Terry Fox run at TudHope Park on Sunday.

Organizers from Orillia and Barrie say they won’t have final donation numbers for a couple of days, while much of the money collected will be coming in from area schools where students have been out collecting for cancer research.