The Terry Fox Run has fast become a Beijing City International School (BCIS) tradition. This annual event brings together the entire BCIS community all for a worthy cause. For those who don't know, the Terry Fox Run is a charity run founded in commemoration of Terry Fox, a Canadian cancer activist who started his Marathon of Hope to raise money for cancer research. BCIS held its first official Terry Fox Run in 2011, after BCIS teacher Dean Eddington contacted the Terry Fox Foundation and registered BCIS as an official run site. This enabled BCIS to sell Terry Fox t-shirts and become a part of the wider Terry Fox Run network, where money raised is given to the foundation.

This year's run was split between our two campuses, the first taking place across the mornings of October 21st and 22nd for our ECC students. An indoor track and obstacle course were setup for students to climb, crawl and of course run around, whilst parents snapped pictures of the athletes in action. Our Main Campus run happened in the afternoon of October 22nd with Elementary and Secondary School students, staff members and parents all coming together to run around three separate courses. After a pumping whole school warm-up session, Ash Dykes, UK explorer and extreme athlete visiting BCIS, counted down runners at the start line. During the run, runners were given a rubber band after each completed lap to keep tally of their progress as donations were made according to how many laps runners had completed.

The total amount of money raised this year is still being counted, but so far BCIS has gathered RMB24,000 from t-shirt sales alone which gives us hope for the great work these funds will support. Last year saw the highest amount raised in the history of the BCIS Terry Fox Run at RMB250,000, and it is predicted that the total amount raised by international Terry Fox Runs last year came to CN$1,000,000. Whilst raising money for this worthwhile cause is important, this event also spreads awareness of cancer, allows an opportunity to remember those who have been lost to this disease, as well as recognize the legacy of a person who persevered in the face of adversity.Dean Eddington, the teacher who has been at the helm of BCIS' Terry Fox Runs for almost ten years, reflected on his experience, he said "I have enjoyed supporting this amazing cause over the years, encouraging the community to engage in this meaningful and worthwhile event, and continuing the incredible Terry Fox legacy."