More than most, Betty Adams-Hill鈥檚 life has been touched by cancer.
Still, each September, the 91大黄鸭 woman comes out to express her gratitude by walking in the annual .
鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 be alive if it wasn鈥檛 for the research that鈥檚 being done and the amazing medical system we have here,鈥� said Adams-Hill who credits the Terry Fox Run for the many of the advances in cancer research.
鈥淣o doubt in my mind it鈥檚 helped a lot of people with cancer and being able to survive it.鈥�
Adams-Hill and her husband, Glenn Hill, were among an estimated 800 people who walked, ran and cycled Sunday morning in 91大黄鸭 for the 37th edition of the Terry Fox Run.
A survivor of her own bout with cancer in 1999, Adams-Hill鈥檚 immediate family also has a history of battling the disease.
Thanks in part to the message and legacy left behind by Terry Fox, Adams-Hill said she and her family continue to persevere.
鈥淚 think about people in my family who have been touched by cancer, my dad passed away from cancer, my brother had throat cancer, my mom is battling cancer, but we find a way to survive,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a beautiful day and just nice to be out here and see all these people being part of it.鈥�
Unlike Adams-Hill, neither Roberto Signoroni nor Jeff Tepper have been directly touched by cancer, but both felt a need to attend Sunday鈥檚 event.
For Signoroni, the Terry Fox Run is the tie that binds so many Canadians.
鈥淎s Canadians there are certain things that bring us together and this one of those things,鈥� Signoroni. 鈥淚 even remember from school one of my assignments said who was one of your role models and I wrote down Terry Fox. It just sticks, it鈥檚 a great story and a great way for us to come together as Canadians.
鈥淚t feels like you鈥檙e a part of something really important and bigger than yourself.鈥�
鈥淓xercise, community, a great way to spend the day and it鈥檚 important to support a good cause like this,鈥� added Jeff Tepper.
One of the head organizer鈥檚 of Sunday鈥檚 run, Norm Sabourin, said Fox鈥檚 legacy and the impact of the annual run has never been more significant.
鈥淩emembering the legacy of Terry Fox, he was an amazing young hero,鈥� Sabourin said of Fox, who ran a marathon for 143 consecutive days in 1980. 鈥淗e was tenacious as a person could be, he set a goal and went for it. An average, everyday Canadian doing something superhuman, extraordinary.
鈥淗is legacy has certainly has had an impact on the advancements made in cancer research.鈥�
As of Sunday afternoon, the 91大黄鸭 Terry Fox Run had raised $28,000, with more donations still to be counted.
More than $750 million has been raised world wide since run鈥檚 inception in 1981.
For more information or to make a donation, go to
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91大黄鸭 singer-songwriter Bo Jahura performs his song, 鈥楾he Fox鈥�, a tribute to Terry Fox.
