Linda Wray, 61, remembers the moment she found out she had cancer.
"My gynecologist called me at 10 p.m. and told me the news," she recalls. "Of course I couldn't sleep all night."
Wray was 48 at the time, married with one son.
"When I first found out I was very upset," she told The NEWS from her Nanoose Bay home. "It's the bad c-word you don't want to hear you have."
But that was 14 years ago and today Wray is cancer-free — and she spent last week handing out posters to every Parksville Qualicum Beach business that would take one for the Terry Fox Run, her favourite fundraising campaign of all time.
Wray called Terry's story "inspirational" and said she's participated in every Terry Fox Run since the event's inception 30 years ago.
"I've never missed it," she said proudly. "If Terry can run a marathon every day, I can walk (or run) one every year."
The 34th annual Terry Fox Run will be hosted Sunday, Sept. 14 at Rathtrevor Provincial Park. Registration is at 9 a.m. and the run starts at 10 a.m.
RDN recreation programmer Colleen Jordan said participants can either bike three kilometres, or run or walk five or 10 kilometres.
Jordan said it is a "family-friendly event" and historically around 250-300 people come out. She said cancer survivors may register to be part of "Terry's Team" and will receive a complimentary red t-shirt. There will also be a memory book and memory poster at the event for participants to sign.
Jordan said the RDN is seeking more volunteers to help with the event, particularly for marshaling the run.
For more information, to volunteer or donate contact Colleen Jordan at 250-248-3252.