New route for Fox run a success
Kathy Jones’ gamble paid off.
Her decision to move New Westminster’s annual Terry Fox Run to the waterfront, along a 2.5-km route from the east end of Pier Park to the west end of the boardwalk resulted in over $8,000 in pledges, the most ever for the local event.
Jones said almost 300 participants took advantage of the gorgeous weather and pan-flat course. But what impressed her most was the energy the new location seemed to spark after years of holding the run in Queen’s Park.
“So many people said how much they enjoyed it,” said Jones, who’s been organizing New West’s run for five years.
“There were people who were just walking by who just joined in.”
Jones said she wanted to move the run’s location because many participants complained of the rolling terrain in Queen’s Park, and she wanted to take advantage of the new amenities on the waterfront, including Pier Park and the River Market, where volunteers were able to conduct registration indoors, washrooms were easily accessible and management provided a band to help fire up the crowd.
But traditions die hard in the Royal City, and Jones admitted to some trepidation that regular runners might have shown up at Queen’s Park out of habit.
As far as she knows, that didn’t happen.
Her fears allayed, Jones said she’s ready to make the run even bigger and better.
“I’ve never had as much fun as an organizer,” said Jones, who’s hoping to add more water stations and entertainment along the route to ramp up the energy.
“Next year when I jog peoples’ memories, they’ll recall that was great, it was worth doing.”
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