Halifax Terry Fox Run draws hundreds to Point Pleasant Park

About 300 people ran, walked and rolled through Halifax's Point Pleasant Park for the 35th anniversary of the Terry Fox Run on Sunday.

Volunteer organizer Krysta Coyle said in the last three decades, the Halifax run has raised half a million dollars.

Coyle and several of the members of the organizing team are cancer researchers at Dalhousie University.

"We truly believe that Terry's cause is an incredible one and we're happy to donate our time to support this great cause," she said.

Another supporter is Laura Hall. Despite having her leg in a cast, she raised $1,050 and came out to run.

Hall said she hadn't participated since grade school, but cancer in her family lured her back.

"Cancer has impacted our lives quite a bit and so this year we are running both in celebration and in memory of someone we lost," she said.

Hall said her father died in May from melanoma. The loss prompted her to raise money for research.

"There was a lot of research that went into giving him the chemo and treatment he needed so we just want to raise some money so that more people get the time we had," she said.

Coyle said the Halifax run is unique because everything organizers needed to stage the event was donated.

"All of the money that you donate today is going straight to the Terry Fox Foundation through the Terry Fox Run," she said.

"We don't have an event budget so everything has been generously donated by local businesses and organizations." 

Last year's Halifax run raised more than $35,000. That amount is expected to be beaten, especially since one team, Heather's Hope, raised over $31,000 this year.

Heather's Hope was started by Jennifer Strowbridge. Her sister Heather Farthing was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in 2011 and died last year, leaving behind a husband and two young children.

Strowbridge sold t-shirts to help raise the money and says the team has members all across Canada.

"Heather would be blown away," Strowbridge said. "We're really happy we could do this in her honour. This year and every year."