Kelowna

Photo: Contributed - The Terry Fox Run-Kelowna

If you can identify anyone in this picture, email news@castanet.net or terryfoxrunkelowna@gmail.com.

The 32nd Annual Terry Fox Run will be held on Sunday September 16 at the Mission Sports fields at Gordon and Lexington.

Since the first official run on September 13, 1981, the run has become one of the world's largest fundraising efforts in the fight against cancer.

Lisa Worman was a volunteer at last year's run in Kelowna, and she came across an interesting piece of Okanagan history.

"We set up a memorabilia board with different interesting facts about the Terry Fox Foundation. Beside the board lying on the table was a picture (above) along with a little write up," says Worman.

That write up offered a look at what may have been the first ever Terry Fox Run.

It turns out that in Kelowna, just 12 days after Fox's Marathon of Hope ended, Okanagan Mission Secondary School Principal Bernie Monteleone helped organize a run for the school.

Monteleone wrote, "It was a rainy, cool Saturday, September 13, 1980.  The students had called early that morning to ask me if the Run was still on. Of course my reply was simply, 'If Terry can do it, so can we.'  At 10:00 a.m., about 15 keen and eager students, my two young sons, Brad and Jason, and I took off in the pouring rain into the hills of Okanagan Mission to 'Run for Terry and Cancer.' The students at Okanagan Mission Secondary School were so touched by the courage and dedication of Terry that they raised $3,200 for cancer research that day. Way to go OKM. It was an outstanding effort by all the students and staff that rainy day in September, 32 years ago."

Needless to say, after 32 years, Monteleone is not able to identify everyone who took part in, what perhaps was, the first Terry Fox run held anywhere.

Now, organizers of the run are curious as to who was in the photo and are hoping Castanet readers can help.

If you can help solve the mystery of who is in the picture, and have a story to tell about that first Terry Fox run, email news@castanet.net.

Registration for Sunday's run begins at 10:00 a.m., with the event starting at 11:00 a.m.

You can walk, run, or ride your choice of 1.5, 5 or 9 km loops. There's no entry fee and what you donate actually goes to cancer research.

Sign-up or make a donation on-line.

On-line donations receive an immediate tax receipt and save the Terry Fox Foundation 80 cents in processing fees.

For more information email terryfoxrunkelowna@gmail.com.