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Local Terry Fox event will be an 'un-run' this year, officials say

'We're going to emphasize participation and just celebration, rather than focusing on money when it's bad economic times for many people,' says official

Runners are being asked to participate in an "un-run" event to celebrate the Terry Fox Run's 40th year. 

Don Chapman, member of the Terry Fox Day in the Heart of Georgian Bay committee, talked in some detail about how the event will evolve for 2020. 

"We would like to build on participation rather than contribution," he said to Tiny Township council during its committee meeting held virtually Monday.

 At the national level, organizers and headquarters were waiting to see if they could do a big event or shift to a smaller one, more appropriate for the times, said Chapman. 

"I think we've landed on a solution that is a kind of compromise," he said. 

"What we're going to do this year is the notion of the un-run," Chapman explained. "Let's everybody wake up on that Sunday and go walk, run, swim, or ride, wherever you want to go. And make a contribution to the Terry Fox website at the end of the day. It's a model everybody around the country is following." 

He said the committee suggests a start time of 10 a.m. on event day, after a virtual kick-off ceremony.  

"I have a vision that hundreds of us running down various roads and cheering each other on," Chapman said. "It will be a very powerful image." 

This option aligns the program with what public health authorities has put out so far, he said, adding the group will consult further with public health authorities and accept whatever they're instructed to do. 

"We're not going to debate anything; we're going to celebrate Terry's legacy," said Chapman. 

This might be a year when the event raises less funds than previous years, he conceded.  

"We're going to emphasize participation and just celebration, rather than focusing on money when it's bad economic times for many people," said Chapman. 

In addition, he said, there are other ways smaller groups of participants in the community can help. 

"We're encouraging anybody who's got a group of five or fewer people to do something to honour Terry and his legacy," said Chapman. "See if you can do some fundraising through that. We can't coordinate any of that, but we'd like groups to coordinate those. We've had a group sign up for a car rally and one for a car wash." 

There's an Addidas sale of the brand's Terry Fox lineup of products, he said, as well as Terry Fox shirts being made available for people to wear during their un-run. 

"We're going to make this work despite the challenges we're up against," said Chapman.