Save the date; the Squamish Terry Fox Run will return on Sept. 15, 2024.
After five years of running the race, former organizers stepped aside prior to the 2023 event, but no one came forward to take it on, so the race did not happen in person in Squamish this fall.
(Some folks did their own virtual run.)
But now, three locals have laced up their sneakers to organize the event for next fall.
Magee Walker, Jon Milnes and Cedric Schell each have stepped up to the starting line and are excited to get to the 2024 run.
Walker said that in September, she saw a friend post on social media about the Pemberton Terry Fox event, which reminded her the Squamish one was upcoming—only, it wasn't.
"Oh, it's not happening," she recalled realizing. "It was too last minute to do anything about it, but I'm like, at least we can do something for next year."
She proposed the idea to her husband, who was on board. Then she reached out to previous organizers.
At about the same time, Milnes and Schell had also reached out.
The three are now pooling their resources to get the run off the ground again.
"The more the merrier," Walker said.
Walker, who moved to Squamish in 2016, has always participated in the Terry Fox Run, and other runs and races. She had also been looking for a way to give back to her community, she said.
"I think that the Terry Fox Run, it's so important for communities," she said. "It brings the community out together. ... It's also celebrating and honouring a historically important Canadian; there's that element to it. And then fundraising is important. Everybody seems to have been affected by cancer one way or the other."
Walker noted the run is held in smaller communities than Squamish and around the world.
"Squamish has to have one. We're a big community; we're a strong community."
She added that it is a very inclusive event. Folks of all ages and abilities can participate and raise from a little to a lot.
Asked what the new organizers need most from the community, Walker said to reserve the date.
"Just bookmark Sept. 15. Don't plan anything else that morning, and show up because I think that's what matters the most."
Organizers have some ideas for fundraisers in the year leading up to the big day, but those are to be announced.
They will also need fellow volunteers to help out. No time commitment is too much or too little.
Watch the Squamish Terry Fox Run page on Facebook and @squamishterryfox on Instagram for the next steps and ways to be involved.
(Message the social media pages if you can volunteer.)
