The Terry Fox Run is meant to honour the memory of Terry Fox, a young Canadian who embarked upon a historic, cross-country run after losing his leg to osteogenic sarcoma. His incredible journey totaled 5,373 km over 143 days. To date, more than 850 million has been raised in Terry’s name via the Terry Fox Run that takes place in major cities across Canada every year.
Last weekend marked the 44th Annual Terry Fox Run, taking place in cities across Canada, as well as our very own Canoe Landing Park! We welcomed the opportunity to participate in the event, as we recognize the importance of cancer research and love to support this historic event. We set our efforts to providing energy and hydration to all race attendees, with our tent serving up freshly brewed coffee under the bridge at the Bentway -where the start and finish points were set up.
We set up at the Start/Finish line of the 5k run in Canoe Landing Park, located in CityPlace downtown Toronto. This bustling neighbourhood is home to our 68 Fort York CAFE dispensary location. The park is a great spot for neighbourhood residents to come together, exercise and enjoy nature right in the very heart of the city.
The event began with a warmup/yoga stretch session in the park, led by trainers from Orange Theory Fitness – a community gym within CityPlace. The warmup lasted around 45 minutes, and gave runners a lot of time to get ready for the 5k run. The route would take runners on several laps of the neighbourhood, complete with perfect views of the CN Tower and Toronto’s gorgeous waterfront.
The event drew lots of people from within the neighbourhood, as well as from everywhere else. The runners were in high spirits, and had lots of encouragement from supporters cheering them on. The weather as well as great, which no doubt had the runners feeling good about.
The circuitous route meant that runners would pass the start/finish line a few times. We were stationed right at this spot, in order to ensure the easiest access to our booth by all people. Our CAFE team members were up bright and early, in order to set up our hot coffee stations as well as the only water station onsite! CAFE was happy to serve others and volunteer at the Terry Fox Run. Our fresh coffees were a hit, and free of course to anyone who wanted them.
We are thankful to have had the opportunity to participate in the 2024 Terry Fox Run and give back to our community. We’re also glad everyone loved our coffee! We can’t wait to take part next year once again.
