One man’s goal to raise awareness for a cure to cancer through a cross-country fund-raising crusade continues to be the focal point of millions of Canadians 27 years after his untimely death due to the deadly disease. That man – Terry Fox – opened the eyes of Canadians from coast-to-coast between 1980 to 1981 when he set out on his Marathon of Hope to help raise funds for cancer research. And while his dream of reaching the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean was never fully realized, he did manage to leave behind a legacy which is every bit as important today as it was back in 1981. That legacy comes in the form of the annual Terry Fox Run, which returns to McLennan and the Smoky River region later this month. Organizers of this year’s annual Terry Fox Run are putting out the call to everyone in the region to pledge their support towards finding an eventual cure for cancer by running, in-line skating, walking or cycling on Sunday, Sept. 14. Francis Lessard, coordinator of the local Terry Fox Run in McLennan, says the 2008 version of the run will take place Sept. 14, beginning at 1 p.m. from the Bird Walk then winding through town on a 3.3 kilometre route which is repeated three times. He encourages everyone from Donnelly, Falher, Girouxville and McLennan to participate in the event, which has been going strong since it started over 25 years ago. “The run does two things, firstly it creates awareness and secondly it’s a continuation of what Terry set out to do. The fight isn’t over yet by any means. There’s still a long way to go, but they are making progress,” he said last week. That progress has been felt locally over the past 27 years with residents of the Smoky River region drumming up cancer support funds to the tune of an estimated $60,000. “This event has been very important to the citizens of our communities. Research dollars that are raised through the Terry Fox Run continue to make a huge impact in the fight against this dreaded disease,” he said last week. Pledge sheets for this year’s Terry Fox Run are currently available at local ATB Financial banks, post offices and on-line at www.terryfox.org. The annual run has attracted an average participation rate of around 35 residents in the Smoky Rive r region. For more information regarding the Terry Fox Run, please contact Lessard at 523-3813 or 324-2157. You may collect pledges for your Terry Fox event either online or in person. To collect pledges online, simply register online (as shown above), and direct your friends, family and co-workers to the website. They will be able to donate online using a credit card. When accepting donations in person, make sure to fill out the donors name and address as well as the amount donated on the pledge form. This makes it easier to issue tax receipts to each donors.