After two years of virtual events, the Terry Fox Run returns to Centennial Park in Barrie on Sunday.
Marilyn Nigro, the chairperson of the Barrie Terry Fox committee, says the fundraising goal is $158,000, which would mark $3-million dollars in donations as the event enters its 42nd year.
The run is being held in memory of Will Dwyer, affectionately known as Barrie's million dollar man, who raised $1.2 million for the Terry Fox Run over 40 years.
Dwyer died earlier this year at age 96.
In August, Centennial South Park was renamed Will Dwyer Park in his honour.
Nigro expects between 800 and 1,000 people will take part in the run.
She says cancer survivors who are participating in the run should identify themselves to organizers, so they are at the starting gate.
"We want cancer survivors to go through the gates first," says Nigro. "It's really overwhelming, and it symbolizes that they are all survivors and cancer research is working."
The run day can be a range of emotions, says Nigro, as people celebrate beating cancer, while others take part in memory of a family member or friend who died of the disease.
"When you see all these people joining for a common cause and with their own purpose in mind, then it is very emotional to see."
The Terry Fox Run in Barrie is Sunday, Sept. 18.
Registration begins at 8 a.m., with the run beginning at 9 a.m.
Banner image: File photo/Barrie 360
