Justin Lacroix

By Madeline Kerr 

Over the last 45 years, millions of Canadians have helped extend the legacy of Terry Fox, and this year for the first time Justin Lacroix was one of them.

But the 75-year-old Chelsea resident wasn’t merely content to participate in a local Terry Fox Run, an annual fundraiser for cancer research, which has raised over $900 million since it was founded in 1981. 

Instead, Lacroix organized his own run on Sept. 14, bringing out 70 participants and raising more than $8,300. 

Lacroix told the Low Down that, like so many others, he has been personally touched by cancer. Five years ago he lost one of closest friends to the disease, and in May this year, Lacroix himself was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer, which he said has spread to his bones and lungs. 

He is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatments, but explained that his doctors have told him his cancer is incurable. 

Despite a tough prognosis, he had the energy and enthusiasm to organize Chelsea’s Terry Fox Run in only 10 days and even hosted a BBQ for participants at his home near Gleneagle.  

Lacroix said he was touched by the support of friends and family members, who came from as far away as Rochester, N.Y., and Quebec City to support him. 

“What I am most moved by is the goodness of people,” Lacroix told the Low Down. 

He added that he hopes he has “planted the seed” and that next year someone else will take up the cause and organize a Terry Fox Run in Chelsea. 

“I’ll see how I’m feeling, but I’d like to be there to help out,” Lacroix said. 

To donate to Lacroix’s Terry Fox Run, visit run.terryfox.ca and search “La vie est belle – Chelsea 2025”.

Terry Fox was a 22-year-old Canadian who lost his leg to bone cancer and, in 1980, decided to run across Canada to raise money and awareness for cancer research. Fox died in 1981 before completing his ‘Marathon of Hope’. An annual fundraiser has been held in his honour every year since, raising over $900 million to date.