The Terry Fox Run is a fundraising event for cancer research. It used to take place as an in-person event at Inter River Park in North Vancouver.
The Terry Fox Run in North Vancouver is organized by a local Rotary Club and happens as a virtual event on Sunday, September 15th, 2024. That means participants can sign up to run the race online but then do it on their own accord on whatever track they want.
By contrast, the run used to take place as an in-person event for a number of years, including on September 18th in 2022.
Terry Fox Runs in the Lower Mainland
Terry Fox Runs take place in mid-September in more than 9,000 communities across Canada. In the Lower Mainland alone there are over 20 runs and they all happen on the same day.
The Terry Fox Run is a fundraising event where participants are encouraged to make a donation and/or get pledges from their friends. There is no registration fee and no minimum donation amount required. All contributions are appreciated and funds raised go to the Terry Fox Foundation and the fight against cancer.
In an average year as much as $10,000 is collected at the North Vancouver event. Millions of dollars, meanwhile, are raised across Canada.
Click Vancouver Terry Fox Runs to see a list of other venues in the Lower Mainland.
Terry Fox Run at Inter River Park
Hosted by the Rotary Club of North Vancouver, the Inter River Park event used to attract up to 200 people each year (in years when it was an in-person event). Participants can run, walk or ride their bikes, even in a virtual format. They can usually also choose between a two-kilometre or five-kilometre route. Being a virtual event, dogs on leash can join in the run.
The North Shore Terry Fox Run has been hosted by the Rotary Club of North Vancouver for around 20 years. It has grown into a community-building fall tradition that is fun, good exercise and for a great cause!
Terry Fox Run Video
Below is a video of the Terry Fox Run in North Vancouver in 2019. The event used to take place rain or shine! See further below for a description of what to expect.
Where and When is the North Van Run?
North Vancouver’s Terry Fox Run used to take place at Inter River Park. The park is close to Capilano University’s main campus and directly north of the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge (or the Second Narrows bridge as it’s commonly referred to by Vancouverites).
The run takes place on the second Sunday after Labour Day in September. When run in-person, registration used to be at 9:00 am, the run started at 10:00 am and by noon it was all over and everyone headed home. Since the run is virtual in 2024, it can be done whenever participants feel like running.
The address for Inter River Park is 1301 Lillooet Road. The park itself runs along the side of Lynn Creek. There are trails that stretch from the north end of the park all the way to Park and Tilford Mall a couple of kilometres to the south. Some of the trails are paved but much of the ground is gravel.
Parking Tips
Inter River Park is a fairly large park if you choose to do your virtual run here. The park has a considerable number of parking spots spread out around the area. Most of the parking is just north of the starting area for the run, by the soccer fields. On days when kids’ soccer games take place, which includes Sundays in September, parking spaces can fill up.
Since this run is virtual in 2024, you shouldn’t have a problem finding a place to park your car.
If you can’t find a spot within the park there is also a bit of parking along Lillooet Road, plus up at Capilano University (although that’s a bit of a trek).
What to Expect and the Running Route
The North Vancouver Terry Fox in-person run started in the small parking lot by the baseball diamond and a couple of the soccer fields at Inter River Park. In the starting area there was usually a booth for registrations, another selling souvenirs and a couple of others serving free snacks and drinks.
Of the 150 to 200 or so participants in a typical year, there were people of all ages and abilities. Participants included families with little kids, seniors and every age in between. There were serious runners, fast walkers and people who both ran and walked. There were also others who really took their time. It’s a non-competitive event that used to take place a beautiful spot. It’s also lots of fun and suitable for everyone (except for folks with mobility issues).
At around 10:00 am everyone was welcomed to the event, sponsors were thanked and a fitness trainer led everyone in a short warm-up. The running and walking began thereafter.
The Running Route
From the parking lot, participants in the in-person event headed down a trail towards the river. Because of the terrain, and the fact that there are some slopes, including the fairly steep one at the start, the route for the Terry Fox Run was suitable for bicycles, but not for wheelchairs, strollers or rollerblading.
Once down the hill, the runners and walkers headed north up along the trail that followsed the river. Around a kilometre from the start there was a drink station. From there participants headed east up a bit of a slope, then south down the road past a series of soccer fields. The group passed the starting parking lot area and headed a little further south. They then circled back either to the starting area (for the two-kilometre crowd) or for a second loop (for the five-kilometre keeners).
(Note: Some runners and walkers never passed the starting area nor circled back to it – they just headed straight there and finished. That was the official two-kilometre route. Many continued on though for the extra half kilometre.)
The running route was well-marked and there were friendly volunteers along the way cheering participants on and showing them where to go.
Other Information
To learn more about the organizers of the event that used to take place in-person at Inter River Park see the Rotary Club of North Vancouver‘s Facebook page. As you’ll see it’s a service club comprising business people and professionals (both currently working and retired). They meet on Mondays at 7:00 pm at Klahanie Park Housing at 380 Klahanie Court.
For a list of other similar Lower Mainland events see our main article about Terry Fox Runs.
To learn more about the charitable cause that benefits from the money raised, or to find other runs, see the Terry Fox Foundation website.
For ideas about other things to do this time of year, check out our September Calendar or click Free Events in September.
