Despite a rainy forecast, 50 runners showed their support for cancer research by running a lakeside route on Sept 18.
The route was the scene of the 2022 Queen’s Terry Fox run, which is run each year by the Engineering Society (EngSoc) at Queen’s. Returning in-person for the first time since 2019, the event raised $3,175 for cancer research.
“[We raised] a lot more than we expected,” Liz Uchida, co-coordinator of the event said in an interview with The Journal. “With students it’s a lot harder to fundraise money because people have so much less to give.”
The event brought together Queen’s students, professors, and Kingston community members. Not all 90 runners who registered online showed up ready to run, but Uchida and co-coordinator Graeden Lau welcomed several last-minute runners.
The race started and ended at Clark Hall, running through City Park and across Breakwater Park. Runners could participate in the three-or five-kilometre route.
“Even with the weather, everyone who showed up was super into it,” Lau said.
“We were talking to one person who ran it the last time it was in-person and he said it was the most running opposed to walking he has ever seen,” Uchida added.
Uchida became involved with the Terry Fox run because one of her best friends survived osteosarcoma—the same type of cancer Terry Fox had.
While COVID-19 itself didn’t pose many hurdles, with two years of Terry Fox runs moved online, all the knowledge on how to run the event was lost.
Days before the run, Lau and Uchida found themselves having to move the entire route from the road to the sidewalk after the city denied their parade permit.
“We had volunteers make sure that everyone followed the traffic laws,” Lau said.
Uchida and Lau hope other faculties will become more involved in the event in the future.
“It was fun,” Lau said. “I was honoured to organize something like this and to support the cause.”
Tags
cancer, Cancer Research, Fundraiser, Running, Terry Fox Run
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