The annual Terry Fox Marathon of Hope (MOH) in Olds takes place this Sunday, Sept. 18, rain or shine, starting and finishing at Centennial Park.
Registration is at 10 a.m. Participants can run, walk or cycle a five-kilometre (K) or 10-K route, starting at 11 a.m.
“It's not a competitive thing, it's just to raise funds,” says Noel D'Arcy of the Olds Fire Department. He's co-organizing the MOH with fellow Olds firefighter Justin Andrew.
The MOH includes a fundraising barbecue, starting at around 12 noon.
“We're hoping we're going to get lots of people coming out this year. It'll be a great event.”
D'Arcy says the barbecue is open to MOH participants as well as the general public.
“You don't have to be a runner, or a walker or a cyclist; just come out to the barbecue, and whether you throw in a toonie into the bucket or whether you throw in $200, everything helps,” he says.
D'Arcy says last year's MOH in Olds raised about $2,500 to $3,000 for cancer research. He and Andrew are hopeful they'll double that figure this year.
It's been a rainy summer and it's turning into a rainy fall. D'Arcy says the MOH in Olds will go ahead – rain or shine.
“This is all outdoors,” he says. “Unless it's like, blizzard or storm conditions it will probably go ahead either way.”
This past July, D'Arcy ran the Calgary Marathon in full firefighter gear to raise money for muscular dystrophy and he'll be running the 10-K MOH route in Olds this Sunday.
He was asked if he'll be running it in full firefighter gear.
“Not this time, no, no,” D'Arcy says with a laugh.
However, “stay tuned on that one. There could be something coming through next year. It's in the infancy stage right now, so I won't say too much.”
"It's not a competitive thing, it's just to raise funds."NOEL D'ARCYCO-ORGANIZERTERRY FOX MARATHON OF HOPE, OLDS
