The 2025 Okotoks Terry Fox Run is a couple of months away, but runners and teams can now register for the event.
This year's run is scheduled for Sunday, September 14, and like last year, will start at Sheep River Park near the Lions Campground.
Also returning is the free BBQ, featuring hot dogs, drinks, and snacks, courtesy of the local Fountain Tire, Sobeys, and Save-On-Foods.
A new feature of this year’s run is the introduction of a $30,000 fundraising goal.
The target was inspired by Terry Fox’s goal for his Marathon of Hope in 1980.
"He had started with a goal of $1 million," said Steve Preece, the organizer of the Okotoks Terry Fox Run. "He was in a small community in Newfoundland, and they gave him a check for $10,000. He later learned that the population of that area was 10,000 people, and he thought, 'Well, if a small community can do that, then I'd like to try and raise a dollar for every Canadian.' So he wanted to raise $24 million, and he did achieve that goal. I looked it up back in 2016 it was around 30,000, so I'm good with that. Let's try for 30,000 this year, $1 from every Okotokian is the goal. That's how that came about."
It’s more than twice the $13,000 raised last year, but Preece thinks it’s possible.
To help meet the ambitious goal, he's encouraging participants to form teams.
"Workplaces, neighbours, families, you know, that might be across the country, but they join together virtually to do this run and raise money, you can almost double the usual fundraiser. So I'm really focusing on encouraging individuals to come and then also to form a team and fundraise as a team to really try to bump our donations this year."
Individual participants are always welcome, Preece added.
Likewise, anyone who wants to take part can do so at their own pace.
"It's not competitive, it's strictly participative. So people can walk, run, roll, roller blade, whatever it is, just participate. There's a short 1.5 run; you could do that twice for 3k. There's a 5k route, of course, you could do that twice for 10k. There are a lot of options, and people can take the level they want."
Information on the Okotoks Terry Fox Run can be seen on the Terry Fox website.