Vassar resident celebrated for 45 years of Terry Fox Runs
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Judy Preteau remembers huddling around the TV with her children while watching Terry Fox begin his Marathon of Hope in 1980.
Watching him run inspired the now 80-year-old to have a run of her own in Vassar to keep his legacy alive. After organizing the annual run for 45 years, she’s done just that. The Vassar Terry Fox Run is now the longest running Terry Fox Run in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
“Terry wanted us to keep it going,” she said.
Her first run in 1980 was just with her children, with her youngest child being four-years-old. From there, she reached out to The Terry Fox Foundation, got the run officially registered in 1981 and began collecting donations.
On Aug. 28, The Terry Fox Foundation and Fred Fox, Terry’s brother, honoured Preteau for her years of organizing the run. The Vassar Community Centre was teeming with excitement as family, friends and community members arrived to celebrate her achievement.
T-shirts and pictures from each run Preteau had organized lined the room’s walls. She said she would’ve put more up, but she couldn’t find them in time.
Preteau said she was shocked when she heard Fred Fox was coming to Vassar.
“I’ve never had anything like this happen to me before,” she said.
Every year, she’s set a pledge goal of $2,000 for the run. She’ll be organizing Vassar’s 45th Terry Fox Run on Sept. 14.
“It’s people like her that, if not for her, the run wouldn’t have continued at all,” said Fox.
Fox, who’s 14 months older than Terry, said Terry knew that the runs were happening across the country before he died in 1981. He remembers Terry not wanting anyone to finish his run from where he stopped in Thunder Bay, but to have others do their own to raise money.
“He hoped that all of Canada would continue his dream,” Fox said. “When he was in Toronto, he said ‘Even if I don’t finish, we need others to continue,’ and I think Judy is that example.”
Preteau said credit should be shared with the rest of her community for keeping the run going.
“I may be the organizer, but I’m not the only one involved in the Terry Fox Run in Vassar,” she said. “I’ve had many people and many runners.”
The Terry Fox Foundation has raised more than $900 million for cancer research.