After 2 years, the Terry Fox Run is back in person

Thousands of British Columbians hit the pavement this Sunday as the 42nd annual Terry Fox Run returned in person after two years of COVID-19 restrictions.

The annual run that began in 1981 has raised over $850 million to date for 1,300 cancer research projects.

In 2020 and 2021, people completed the runs virtually — on their own — because of the pandemic, but this year organizers expected crowds of participants to take part in person.

According to the Terry Fox Foundation, some four million people in 560 communities will participate by running, walking, rollerblading or biking.

"It's exciting. There's quite an energy in the air getting back to in-person runs," said Michael Mazza, executive director of the Terry Fox Run, in an interview with The Early Edition host Stephen Quinn on Friday. 

"I think we forgot how much we missed getting together as a community, and then we forgot a little bit how much work it is to get together."

In Vancouver's run in Stanley Park on Sunday, Jack Basterfield of the Terry Fox Foundation described the response as "incredible."

"Even before coming into today, we've actually raised more money at the Stanley Park run than we've ever raised," he said.

The Stanley Park participants included 80-year-old prostate cancer survivor Gordon Eaton, who said this is his 42nd year doing the run. 

"We need the young ones to keep this going. As you know, cancer can be beaten," he said.

In B.C.'s northeast, residents of the small community of Hudson's Hope hit the streets running just one day after they were allowed to return to their homes following an evacuation order related to the Battleship Mountain wildfire.

Organizer James Naisby said he didn't make the final decision to participate until he woke up