Richard Guay has missed only four of the Terry Fox runs since the first Marathon of Hope.
“I started in year one,” he says. “I was a runner, and I remember watching this guy on TV, when nobody really knew who he was or what he was doing. He said he was going to run a marathon a day. I was a 10-kilometre runner, and I thought I was in pretty good shape, so it made me think, ‘I better kick my butt and get going.’ Terry Fox motivated me to run more, to work harder.”
He realized then that what the young man was doing, inspiring people across the country, was more than a fundraiser.
“This was a legacy,” says Guay. “My mother and father walked, my wife started walking, then she started to jog. And I started to ride, instead of running.”
In the intervening years, Guay says, “he changed my outlook as to what is possible. I ended up doing four marathons.”
As the years went on, for each Terry Fox Run, he was able to raise more money.
At first, he would just show up to the event, and hand in a donation, but then, he says, “people started giving me cheques.”
In recent years, he has been posting his fundraiser on the Terry Fox Run website, which has really taken off and made it easier for supporters to donate, he says. This year he has already raised $3,500, $200 more than last year.
“I have great friends. And I’m like a bad debt — I don’t go away,” he jokes. “People are really nice, and very generous. This is more money than I’ve ever raised, in a year that is difficult, that’s a solo race. A big thank you to teammates who come back every year.”
Guay, 66, says he will “ride like crazy” this Sunday, probably doing about 50 kilometres — he’s cycled more than 4,000 kilometres this summer — and then he will run five kilometres for Terry Fox.
Guay has lived and worked in many different places over the last 40 years. The first time he participated in a run, he lived in Levis, Quebec, where he was born and raised. He has since lived in Vancouver, Montreal, Oakville, other Canadian cities, and in the U.S.
Five years ago, he moved to Niagara-on-the-Lake, “absolutely the best place to live when you retire.”
As much as he loves the weather here in the summer, he heads to Whistler, B.C., in the winter, the best place to ski, he says.
During his moving around, he has participated in 36 runs, in many different locations. “Forty years later, Terry still has an impact on me, and on others. I think about this young guy who died, and the legacy he left. Whenever you think the going is tough, think about Terry, and what he did. A marathon a day, to help others. He is a national hero.”
Richard Guay has missed only four of the Terry Fox runs since the first Marathon of Hope.
“I started in year one,” he says. “I was a runner, and I remember watching this guy on TV, when nobody really knew who he was or what he was doing. He said he was going to run a marathon a day. I was a 10-kilometre runner, and I thought I was in pretty good shape, so it made me think, ‘I better kick my butt and get going.’ Terry Fox motivated me to run more, to work harder.”
He realized then that what the young man was doing, inspiring people across the country, was more than a fundraiser.
“This was a legacy,” says Guay. “My mother and father walked, my wife started walking, then she started to jog. And I started to ride, instead of running.”
In the intervening years, Guay says, “he changed my outlook as to what is possible. I ended up doing four marathons.”
As the years went on, for each Terry Fox Run, he was able to raise more money.
At first, he would just show up to the event, and hand in a donation, but then, he says, “people started giving me cheques.”
In recent years, he has been posting his fundraiser on the Terry Fox Run website, which has really taken off and made it easier for supporters to donate, he says. This year he has already raised $3,500, $200 more than last year.
“I have great friends. And I’m like a bad debt — I don’t go away,” he jokes. “People are really nice, and very generous. This is more money than I’ve ever raised, in a year that is difficult, that’s a solo race. A big thank you to teammates who come back every year.”
Guay, 66, says he will “ride like crazy” this Sunday, probably doing about 50 kilometres — he’s cycled more than 4,000 kilometres this summer — and then he will run five kilometres for Terry Fox.
Guay has lived and worked in many different places over the last 40 years. The first time he participated in a run, he lived in Levis, Quebec, where he was born and raised. He has since lived in Vancouver, Montreal, Oakville, other Canadian cities, and in the U.S.
Five years ago, he moved to Niagara-on-the-Lake, “absolutely the best place to live when you retire.”
As much as he loves the weather here in the summer, he heads to Whistler, B.C., in the winter, the best place to ski, he says.
During his moving around, he has participated in 36 runs, in many different locations. “Forty years later, Terry still has an impact on me, and on others. I think about this young guy who died, and the legacy he left. Whenever you think the going is tough, think about Terry, and what he did. A marathon a day, to help others. He is a national hero.”
To donate to Guay, go to https://secure.terryfox.ca/registrant/mobile/mobilePersonalPage.aspx?RegistrationID=4711581&Referrer=direct%2fnone
