Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, August 29, 2007

REPULSE BAY - Folks in Repulse Bay take part in the annual Terry Fox Run a little earlier than most Canadians so they can host the event while Mother Nature is still in an accommodating mood.

Students from Tusarvik school are joined by friends and family members for the annual Terry Fox Run in Repulse Bay earlier this month. - photo courtesy of Leonie Aissaoui

This year's event was held on Aug. 17 in Repulse, with Tusarvik school students and staff raising about $760 for cancer research.

The nationwide event is held on Sept. 18.

Physical-education teacher Bill Kennedy organized this year's run in Repulse.

Kennedy said close to 200 students and community members took part in the event.

He said most of the students at Tusarvik came out for the run, and he was pleased to see the support they received from the community.

"We ran or walked out to Old Water Lake and back, with one segment being a race and the other being more of a recreational hike," said Kennedy.

"We had prizes for the top male and female participants.

"Grade 8 student Linda Uttak had the fastest female time, finishing the run in 35 minutes.

"Grade 10 student Stephan Angotialuk had the best time for the males, completing his run in 31 minutes."

The school held an assembly on Aug. 16 to screen a 45-minute video on Terry Fox for the students.

While most of the students knew all about Fox, the video was informative for some of the younger students who didn't know all he had to deal with.

The video put a face to the Fox name for those kids, and reminded all the students why the entire country holds the Terry Fox Run every year.

A number of Grade 10 to 12 students helped out during the Repulse run.

Kennedy said he was impressed by the teamwork and dedication they showed while accompanying the junior students along the route, as well as cooking hotdogs and overseeing activities in the gym afterwards.

He said the run wouldn't have went so well without their support.

"This was my first experience with an event like this in Repulse, and I was impressed with how everyone came together to make it work.

"I gave responsibilities to the senior students and the majority of them rose to the occasion.

"We had a penny auction after the run to raise money for cancer research.

"It was nice to see most of the town, young and old, come out to the auction."