Cape Breton Post

Ready to run

Northside prepares for annual Terry Fox run

- BY CAPE BRETON POST STAFF

It’s a moment that Kay Batherson will never forget.

In the spring of 1980, the Highland dance teacher was driving to a Highland Dance competitio­n in Port Hawkesbury with her three daughters when she saw Terry Fox running on the road.

“There was a trailer with him and he waved to us,” Batherson recalls. “And I just tooted to him and it wasn’t until after that that we realized that he was really collecting money but he kept walking and running at the time.”

Fox had begun his Marathon of Hope in St. John’s, Newfoundla­nd on April 12, 1980. Fox had been diagnosed with bone cancer when he was 18, losing his right leg to 15 cm above the knee. He was so touched by the suffering of other cancer patients that he decided to run across the country to raise money for cancer research. He would average about 26 km a day until September 1 when he was forced to abandon his quest to run across Canada because cancer had appeared in his lungs. He would die on June 28, 1981 at the age of 22.

Because of Fox’s determinat­ion, Batherson has been involved in the North Sydney Terry Fox run for the past 37 years. She wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I never, ever stopped taking part,” she says. “All my kids no matter where they were … they ran wherever they were and they’re still doing it and my grandchild­ren are doing the same thing.”

This year’s Northside run will be held on Sunday, September 16, starting with registrati­on at the Northern Yacht Club at 8:30 a.m. The run begins at 9:30 a.m. and will cover the area between the Northern Yacht Club and the corner of Blowers and Commercial St, five km away. If you want to complete 10 km, participan­ts simply need to return to the yacht club.

Although it’s called a run, participan­ts can walk, skip, rollerblad­e or bike the route.

In addition to the morning run, the North Sydney event also includes an afternoon ceilidh, starting at 2 p.m. at the North Sydney Firefighte­rs Club on Pierce St. Led by well-known musician Fred Lavery, it will feature a variety of performers from the Northside area.

“It’s $10 payable at the door, general admission and there will be a fudge sale and a 50/50 draw and sometimes we have a few beverages for sale too,” says Batherson. “Everyone volunteers, nobody gets paid. Fred Lavery has been helping me for 14 years.

“We have the best of everything, really.”

 ?? CAPE BRETON POST/NIKKI SULLIVAN ?? Runners start the 37th annual Terry Fox Run for cancer research on September 17, 2017 outside the Northern Yacht Club. The run, organized by the North Sydney Terry Fox Committee, will take place this year on Sunday, September 16, leaving the Northern Yacht Club at 9:30 a.m.
CAPE BRETON POST/NIKKI SULLIVAN Runners start the 37th annual Terry Fox Run for cancer research on September 17, 2017 outside the Northern Yacht Club. The run, organized by the North Sydney Terry Fox Committee, will take place this year on Sunday, September 16, leaving the Northern Yacht Club at 9:30 a.m.
 ??  ?? Batherson
Batherson
 ??  ?? Fox
Fox

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