They laced up, ran, rollerbladed, biked and walked. Some 290 faculty, staff and students turned out in force last Sunday for the annual Terry Fox run, hosted by the York is U Student Alumni Program.
This year’s event raised a total of $13,240 in donations, surpassing last year’s total of $10,667.83. The Terry Fox Run takes place each September to promote ongoing cancer research.
Along with running shoes, rollerblades and bikes, there were other modes of transportation, with many of the younger participants opting to travel in style in strollers powered by their parental units. There were also plenty of pets participating in this year’s event.
Fourth-year student Vivian Ng, community affiliations director of the York is U Student Alumni Program, led the runners. York President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri upped the ante by issuing a challenge to senior administrators to see who could raise the most donations in a friendly bid to outdo the Shoukri Squad.
The winner was the Brew Crew, named in honour of Gary Brewer, York's vice-president finance & administration. Comprised of 48 participants, the crew raised the most funds and received the “first prize” of $1,000 in Monopoly money, no word yet on what the Brew Crew will do with their prize.
Following with a close second was the Shoukri Squad with 44 participants, Team Tiffin came up in third place with 35 participants. The VPA Fox Totters, Team Health, Team Ed-Up and Team Sloan rounded out the mix.
This year, Health Education & Promotion at York put participants through a brisk warm-up. The run got underway at 10am in front of the Steacie Science Library located on Campus Walk, Keele campus. The two-kilometre run had plenty of hydration stations for runners and pets. Following the run, registered participants received certificates of completion. Due to construction around the Keele campus, the route was shortened this year.
York’s Terry Fox Run was one of more than 9,000 volunteer-led and organized runs that took place across Canada.