Sunday Terry Fox Run Propelled by Web Sign-Ups, Funding Enthusiasm
By Douglas VonKohorn ‘07
News Reporter
On April 23rd, Choate’s sixth annual Terry Fox Run will begin at ten in the morning at the Mahlon Thatcher Track. All proceeds will be sent to the Yale Center for Cancer.
Terry Fox is one of Canada’s greatest heroes of the 20th Century. Fox ran 3,339 miles with an artificial leg – raising a total of $3.5 million by the end of his run, a dollar for every Canadian. His story of sheer will and determination has inspired many people across the world.
The race at Choate will be a 5 kilometer run in which anyone can participate. Liz Walton ’06, who is organizing the run this year, said “I am hoping to break the $10,000 barrier this year, which cannot be done without more support from Choate students.”
Jeff Berry ’06, who organized the run last year, passed the reigns over to Walton this year; she had been his assistant in organizing the run last year.
“It’s tough to organize the run senior spring. My team has been a big help, but I wish I could relax more,” said Walton.
The sign-up and donation part of the run are proving to be much faster and easier. This year there is a website which can be found on the Daily Notice that allows anyone to donate at any time.
This year Walton and Sam Pape ’08, who helped organize the run, secured Terry Fox T-Shirts, which give more incentive to donate to this year’s run.
The story behind the missing tee shirts last year involves Choate Alumnus Dov Charney, CEO of American Apparel. He told last year’s organizer that he would donate 1000 tee shirts to the Terry Fox run, but the shirts never came. Apparently during the summer he apologized and donated $1,500 to the Yale Cancer Center.
A short film advertising the run was shown at a recent all-school meeting. The organizers added it this year because they felt that the run needed more publicity. Walton thought bringing a little humor and insight as to why the run exists would increase the number of runners this year.
The group making the movie ran into some minor problems. They had spent several hours recording many interviews on the Terry Fox Run with many different Choate students; however, all of that footage was lost due to camera problems. They had to come up with a last minute solution, which was shown last Wednesday.
All in all, Walton was optimistic about the event. She said “It will be a fun day; there will be music, T-Shirts, and a lot of great food. You get out of Sunday D, and if 350 students sign up, there will be no dress code at dinner for the next week.” This race is shaping up to be the best one since its inception six years ago.
