Episode 1 of Kevjet's Run Up to Canada Day London!
What drives a young man to run an average of a marathon a day on one leg? Join us as we sit down with Neil Johnson, chair of the Terry Fox Run UK, to uncover the extraordinary journey of Terry Fox, Canada's most enduring hero. Diagnosed with osteosarcoma at 18 and losing his leg to the disease, Terry's determination to run across Canada in 1980 birthed the Marathon of Hope. Neil shares how Terry's heartfelt mission continues to fuel global cancer research efforts and how his legacy has inspired countless individuals worldwide.
The Terry Fox Run's UK expansion is a testament to the resilience and spirit of this global movement. Initially starting as a virtual event during the pandemic, it has now blossomed into multiple runs across cities like London, Glasgow, and Belfast. With all proceeds benefiting UK cancer research, the event has garnered significant support, including from Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds has gone the extra mile by co-designing the event's t-shirt and leveraging his connection with the Wrexham football team to raise awareness. We're also thrilled to preview the Declan Swans' upcoming performance at Trafalgar Square, a celebration of community and cause.
Excitement peaks as we discuss the inaugural Terry Fox Run in Wales, scheduled for October 13th in Wrexham, with Fred Fox, Terry's older brother, gracing the event as the guest of honor. Neil's insights take us through the meticulous planning and community involvement, while also sharing ambitious goals leading up to the 50th-anniversary celebration in 2030. The Maple Leaf Trust’s pivotal role in sustaining the event's legacy in the UK is acknowledged, and we can't contain our enthusiasm for the upcoming festivities in Trafalgar Square. We hope you’ll join us in this heartfelt tribute to Terry Fox's incredible legacy.
Episode 1 of Kevjet's Run Up to Canada Day London!
What drives a young man to run an average of a marathon a day on one leg? Join us as we sit down with Neil Johnson, chair of the Terry Fox Run UK, to uncover the extraordinary journey of Terry Fox, Canada's most enduring hero. Diagnosed with osteosarcoma at 18 and losing his leg to the disease, Terry's determination to run across Canada in 1980 birthed the Marathon of Hope. Neil shares how Terry's heartfelt mission continues to fuel global cancer research efforts and how his legacy has inspired countless individuals worldwide.
The Terry Fox Run's UK expansion is a testament to the resilience and spirit of this global movement. Initially starting as a virtual event during the pandemic, it has now blossomed into multiple runs across cities like London, Glasgow, and Belfast. With all proceeds benefiting UK cancer research, the event has garnered significant support, including from Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds has gone the extra mile by co-designing the event's t-shirt and leveraging his connection with the Wrexham football team to raise awareness. We're also thrilled to preview the Declan Swans' upcoming performance at Trafalgar Square, a celebration of community and cause.
Excitement peaks as we discuss the inaugural Terry Fox Run in Wales, scheduled for October 13th in Wrexham, with Fred Fox, Terry's older brother, gracing the event as the guest of honor. Neil's insights take us through the meticulous planning and community involvement, while also sharing ambitious goals leading up to the 50th-anniversary celebration in 2030. The Maple Leaf Trust’s pivotal role in sustaining the event's legacy in the UK is acknowledged, and we can't contain our enthusiasm for the upcoming festivities in Trafalgar Square. We hope you’ll join us in this heartfelt tribute to Terry Fox's incredible legacy.
Welcome to the first episode of the new weekly series KevJet's Run-Up to Canada Day London. I'm excited to introduce to you my very first guest, neil Johnson, the chair of the Terry Fox Run.
Speaker 2:
UK. The Terry Fox Foundation is the single largest global cancer research fundraiser in the world. It's raised over $900 million since Terry Fox started. He is the OG. The reason why every other run exists is because he, who is Canada's hero, started this in 1980.
Speaker 1:
Neil tells us all about Terry Fox's story and his legacy that continues to live on and help so many people today battling cancer.
Speaker 2:
What he decided to do in 1980 was a run across Canada. He started April 12, 1980. On September 1,. After 143 and forty three days averaging a marathon a day, he knew something was wrong. He couldn't run anymore. He wanted to see a doctor in the hospital and those doctors immediately told him that he had to stop the Marathon of Hope. As he called his run, the Marathon of Hope. As he called his run, the Marathon of Hope.
Speaker 1:
The Terry Fox Run was a popular event in London for many, many years and it took a pause, but Neil has brought it back, bigger and better than ever.
Speaker 2:
Up until 2007, there was a central London Terry Fox Run. People would gather it was a cultural phenomenon. There was a play in Royal Albert Hall on the Terry Fox story. There was a song written by Rod Stewart Never Give Up on a Dream. That was on his 1981 album. There is a real history between the UK and Terry Fox.
Speaker 1:
I'm excited to announce that this year the Terry Fox Run UK is being represented at Canada Day London.
Speaker 2:
How great are those two Canadian things? They are peanut butter and jelly. You know those two things go together. So I'm happy to support John Baldwin and the team at Canada Day London to really get the Canadian spirit back on June 30th. What Terry Fox did and every Canadian knows Terry Fox and they know the story. Canada Day and the Terry Fox run how can you get more Canadian than that? Everyone's included and it's free to attend and you're just there to celebrate what it means to be Canadian.
Speaker 1:
I ask about the ambassador for the Terry Fox Foundation, and I think a few of you might have heard of him before.
Speaker 2:
What we're really excited about is the connection with the ambassador of the Terry Fox Foundation and a very proud Canadian in Ryan Reynolds, the actor. So he has co-designed the T-shirts in the last two years and of course I don't know if anyone has heard, but he has bought this team, a little football team in Wales. You know, I don't know, he's not very good at promoting himself.
Speaker 1:
This is a wonderful conversation and, of course, being my big mouth, I let a couple surprises out, oops you now?
Speaker 2:
you've let the cat out of the bag, let's go with it.
Speaker 1:
Let's go with it come on, neil, give us an exclusive there's one more thing I'm gonna say in this podcast.
Speaker 2:
They're revealing a lot.
Speaker 1:
World first year and into this first episode of KevJets, run up to Canada Day London and hear all about this fascinating story of Terry Fox. Neil Johnson has been a fabulous guest and we look forward to welcoming him to Trafalgar Square on June, the 30th. Welcome to KevJet, the podcast. Today's guest is Neil Johnson, the chair of the Terry Fox Run UK. Welcome.
Speaker 2:
Oh well thanks, kevin.
Speaker 1:
I'm happy to be here. You're joining us from Canada today. I am yeah House in Toronto, very nice. Let's just kick off with Terry Fox. Who was Terry Fox? Who is Terry Fox? What is the Terry Fox Run UK? To those people that have no idea, if they've not heard of this before, why should they get involved and tell us all the fun facts?
Speaker 2:
Sure, sure. It's important to know that the Terry Fox Run is a fun run. It's to raise money for cancer research.
Speaker 2:
There are lots of runs you can sign up for and run around for charity. What people have to realize who have never heard of Terry Fox is because he, who is Canada's hero, has become Canada's hero, started this in 1980. And actually the story starts in 1977 when Terry Fox, is an 18-year-old, had to go to the hospital for a pain in his leg which was cancer. To go to the hospital for a pain in his leg, which was cancer, and four days after he was diagnosed, the doctors told him they had to amputate his leg to save him, and he went through chemotherapy. He lost his leg, he had a prosthetic leg and he was in the children's ward in the children's ward, surrounded by children with cancer, which really made an indelible impression on this 18-year-old. Sorry, I got choked up.
Speaker 1:
So he decided to do something about it.
Speaker 2:
He was given an article about an amputee that ran the New York Marathon and that implanted something in his brain to say you know, this is just another challenge in my life and I've always been told I'm too small to play basketball, I'm too slow and I'm not good enough. But I've always overcome challenges and this is just another challenge. He decided that what was needed was both awareness and money into cancer research, and he had osteosarcoma, but he wanted to rid the world of all cancers because he saw all the kids. What he decided to do in 1980 was a run across Canada, which is a very large country for those in the UK. He made it most of the way, but not all of the way.
Speaker 2:
He started April 12th 1980. He ran an average of a marathon every single day through April, may, june, july, august and on September 1st, after 143 days averaging a marathon a day, he had to check himself into a hospital. He knew something was wrong. He couldn't run anymore. He wanted to see a doctor in the hospital and those doctors immediately told him that he had to stop the Marathon of Hope, as he called his run, the Marathon of Hope because they had found that the cancer had returned. The cancer had returned to his lungs and there was a cancer tumor the size of a lemon in one of his lungs and in the other lung there was a cancer tumor the size of a golf ball. And that's what he was running with as a 21-year-old, day in and day out.
Speaker 2:
Getting up at four o'clock in the morning he had a support van that his brother Daryl was in and his best friend Doug. They started with no fanfare. He got, you know, donated sneakers from Adidas and a van from Ford. But other than that, you know, they relied on the goodwill of passersby and collected donations along the roadside and the empty highways of Canada and he made it 3,339 miles, which is, you know, land's End to John O'Groats. For those in the UK that's the equivalent of running that four times.
Speaker 2:
He had to go home on September 1st, get more treatment, all the chemotherapy again, but less than a year later he passed away and after that time the Terry Fox Run started. And the Terry Fox Run is really to continue what he started that summer and the Marathon of Hope, as he said, needs to continue without him. The marathon of hope, as he said, needs to continue without him and that's what we do and it's run all across Canada in 10,000 schools in Canada, in 30 different countries around the world and right here in the UK. And I can tell the story of the UK. But that is all about Terry Fox.
Speaker 1:
Thanks for that. Let's talk about how it came to the.
Speaker 2:
UK. One very important person in the creation of the Terry Fox run is Isidore Sharp. Isidore Sharp was the founder and CEO of the Four Seasons Hotels and really kind of adopted Terry, you know, in a sense adopted, uh, terry, you know, and in in a in a sense, because he had already lost a son to cancer a few years before. So we really took to terry's story and his ambition and wanted to help terry and so, uh, the four seasons hotels would organize terry fox runs wherever there was a, wherever there was a hotel around the world when Izzy was the CEO and owner, and that included London. So in the 1980s and 1990s, up until 2007, there was a central London Terry Fox run. People would gather it was a cultural phenomenon. There was a play in Royal Albert Hall on the Terry Fox story. There was a song written by Rod Stewart, never Give Up on a Dream. That was on his 1981 album. So there is a real history between the UK and Terry Fox.
Speaker 1:
And now you're back after a pause, and you're back bigger and better than ever.
Speaker 2:
In 2007,. You know there was a shift. There was the Park Lane Hotel closed down for renovations for over a year and then they you know the Four Seasons now doesn't organize runs. They support the runs, but to organize something did not get taken up by anyone else. It just kind of got forgotten about. My son was born in London. I'm a UK citizen now after living there, but I couldn't believe that the Terry Fox Run wasn't around in 2019.
Speaker 2:
And I'd been talking to someone in Canada and they're like oh yeah, I'm going to the Terry Fox Run tomorrow and I had already thought, hey, I'm here for the weekend because I'm raising money for my company. What am I going to do on the weekend? Let's go for a run. So I'm like this is going to be great, I'm going to be surrounded by Canadians. I'll do the Terry Fox run. You know, I'm going to do my 10K anyway.
Speaker 2:
And I was floored that London, with all its Canadians and all its history in the Terry Fox run, had let this lapse, had let it, you know, go into the sands of time. And it really struck me that Canada's hero in a place like London, where they were doing them in Jakarta and India and China and the Philippines and, you know, in Madrid and Paris and it wasn't a Terry Fox run in London and Paris and it wasn't a Terry Fox run in London, england I was flabbergasted. So, as a proud Canadian that has a lot of ties to London, as I mentioned, I vowed that day running around Hyde Park, you know, by myself and the Terry Fox run day in the 2019, that we'll bring it back on the Terry Fox Run Day in the 2019, then we'll bring it back.
Speaker 1:
Amazing. So this whole interview has come about as part of the Run-Up to Canada Day London, which this is the first episode of KevJet's Run-Up series to Canada Day London, so I'm proud to do that. You're going to be well represented on the. It's not July 1st, but it's happening on June 30th in Trafalgar Square and you will be on the main stage and introducing this whole Terry Fox run UK to the crowds. How exciting is that.
Speaker 2:
Oh, it's very exciting. When I was. You know this is another thing that had a pause. You know, we traditionally, while I was living in London, pride in our history and what makes us Canadian and we don't get to celebrate it too often, you know, and we're very apologetic about celebrating our Canadian-ness, as you know. It's kind of one of those Canadian traits, but I've been around the world watching Canadian rugby in Hong Kong or Canadian hockey in Germany for the World Hockey Championships and on and on, and Canadians have great pride in their country in what makes us Canadian, in Canada Day and the Terry Fox. I mean, how great are those two Canadian things? They are peanut butter and jelly. You know those two things go together. So I'm happy to support John Baldwin and the team at Canada Day London to really get the Canadian spirit back on June 30th.
Speaker 1:
How important do you see those two roles playing together?
Speaker 2:
You know, you think about the essence of being Canadian and how we're so proud of being a free country and a welcoming country, and a welcoming country for everyone. We were built by immigrants. You know like absolutely what Canada is all about and we're celebrating our diversity and are celebrating our First Nations and I know John is doing a bunch of that with Canada House as supporting. You know just what it means to be Canadian and we don't have many heroes, so to have Terry Fox represented when we celebrate Canada, I think is very, very important what Terry Fox did and every Canadian knows Terry Fox and they know the story even a little bit. The Terry Fox Foundation is the single largest global cancer research fundraiser in the world. It's raised over $900 million since Terry Fox started and that is an event that is also open to all. It's non-competitive, it's free and, just like Canada Day and the Terry Fox run, how can you get more Canadian than that? Everyone's included and it's free to attend and you're just there to celebrate what it means to be Canadian.
Speaker 1:
Tell us some of the events that you have planned, because there's many runs planned this year. There's one special one that's a first ever, so let's hear about that.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, so picking up running myself around 2019, I will say I was competitive and I came in first that year I'm just going to say it being the first Terry Fox run In 2020, we had to go virtual, which was very important. I kind of started this by saying London needs a run. You got New York 3,000 Canadians come out and the Canadian Thanksgiving. They raise 150,000 US each and every year. You can see the videos in New York. I mean, that is what I'm thinking. London is going to be, of course, the first year. We got the pandemic. So, instead of London, we opened it up as you introduced me, as the UK and I talked to my committee said well, we're all going virtual, we don't even know what that means, but that means anyone can run around their house, and so our important thing to realize is that we are raising money for cancer research. That stays in the UK and it's for UK cancer research and we're not sending the money back to Canada. You know it's important for the longevity of the run and in our cancer research institution is called the Institute of Cancer Research. You know that name was still available when they started over 100 years ago as fighting cancer and researching cancer. They've been researching cancer for over 100 years. They're number one in the UK. They're number four in the world of what they do. They have a joint venture with the Royal Marsden Hospital the highest quality of science going on there. And so, 2020, 60 different communities all across the UK registered on the website and ran around their own community, 6-0. It really opened my eyes to what is possible and the connection that the UK has with Terry Fox.
Speaker 2:
So in 2021, we started with a one run in London and you know, wasn't as big as the New York is now, but you know New York started where we started. You know, 25 people, 30 people. You know I was happy that 2021, we had over 100. And then in 2022, we had the Queen pass right when the Terry around the Terry Fox. So we had to cancel everything and we did it in late October and we had two runs. We had one run at a NATO base by the Canadians ARC, and so that was our second run and we did London. And that precipitated into last year where we had Glasgow, the Four Seasons Hotel in Hampshire and London. So we had three runs in 2023. Last year we had over 500 people in Battersea Park in London we're doubling every year and I hope to double again.
Speaker 2:
And because it's just one of those cultural phenomenons, it's family-friendly. Come out with your family, your dog, go to our website and see the video. It's just one of those events that is a great, great morning out. We don't start too early, you know it's 10 o'clock start so you can get your pack, your kids and come down to Battersea Park. But this year, as you mentioned, we're doing the Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire again. Glasgow is going again. We have Richard Moore up in Belfast who has put up his hand to get one started in Northern Ireland. But what we're really excited about is the connection with the ambassador of the Terry Fox Foundation and a very proud Canadian in Ryan Reynolds, the actor. So he has co-designed the t-shirt in the last two years and of course I don't know if anyone has heard, but he has bought this team, a little football team in Wales. I don't know, he's not very good at promoting himself, but I think a few people.
Speaker 1:
It might've been like a Chinese whispers thing A few people have heard. I think a few people it might have been like a Chinese whispers thing A few people have heard.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, wrexham, and you know I've watched the documentary. If you haven't watched it, please watch it. It is just a hoot. I mean, you know it's about the town, it's about the town, it's about the community and and, uh, when I was, I was watching it, and this relates to can today too.
Speaker 2:
When I was watching it, two things struck me. One is that, um, the, the way they approached the success of the team was all about community and being part of the community, and that resonated with a lot of people from from Rexham. But it also it also is exactly what Terry Fox and and and those values that we have, because we're all volunteer led the Terry Fox Foundation. All the runs across Canada and across the world are all volunteers and they're giving back to their community.
Speaker 2:
And the second thing was that you know, someone was profiled on the documentary that was a cancer survivor and he you know, I know him very well and he's a great person and his wife as well are great, great people and they've supported the Terry Fox family, because I told them all about, like Ryan Reynolds and Terry Fox and Canada and cancer, and so that person is Michael Hett or Scoot, the lead singer of the Declan Swans that was profiled on all the seasons and famously wrote an amazing catchy song called Always Sunny in Wrexham all about Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds and buying the team and I can't get that song out of my head. It's whenever I see the Declan Swans in my WhatsApp and whatnot, the song just kind of keeps whistling it. So it's, but everyone will hear that song on stage on Trafalgar Square June 30th 4.30 PM. You've got to be there.
Speaker 1:
I was just going to ask are we allowed to say that? So you just did, so we are allowed to say it.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, you know it's. If Ryan Reynolds can do it, you know I can I can do a little bit of promotion as well, yeah yeah.
Speaker 2:
No, it's, it is announced, announced and we are so excited to have the Declan Swans, the whole band up on stage, cancer survivors and Terry Fox and Ryan Reynolds and all the good work that he's doing for Canadians around the world, for Terry Fox and being our ambassador, and Wales and the city of Wrexham, now that they've been promoted back-to-back times and going to be in League One next year, which I'm really excited about.
Speaker 1:
And I think it's. Are we safe to say Terry's brother will be attending London.
Speaker 2:
Yes, that is. That's also right you. Now you've let the cat out of the bag, let's go with it.
Speaker 1:
Let's go with it.
Speaker 2:
There is a very special guest this year in both London and Wrexham. Where Wrexham? We haven't actually talked about that, but outside of Glasgow, belfast, we're also doing a new run in Wrexham which is the first of its kind. We've never done a Terry Fox run in Wales and so Wrexham is going to be the first in Wales and so Wrexham is going to be the first. It'll be October 13th so it doesn't clash with London because I imagine a few people from London will want to attend the Wrexham run. It's just an amazing community up there and they've really rallied behind the cancer research and the Terry Fox story.
Speaker 2:
I've got as big a community. I have as big a committee for London as I do for Rexham. It's a real community-led run that we're doing. It's going to be 5K, it's going to be on Sunday, october 13th and, yes, in London and in Rexham there will be Fred Fox, terry Fox's older brother. That is going to be our guest of honour here in the UK and he's never actually been to the UK run, even in the 80s and 90s with the Four Seasons. This will be the first one he's attended, so it's a must attend this year, exciting.
Speaker 1:
I've spoken to John and both of us will be attending the Wre. He's attended, so it's a must attend this year. Exciting. I've spoken to John and both of us will be attending the WREXM one, so we're looking forward to that.
Speaker 2:
All right.
Speaker 1:
Let's go back to Ryan Reynolds as the ambassador. How was the ambassador chosen?
Speaker 2:
Well, they asked and he accepted. You know, every year in the last few years there has been a real theme around the Terry Fox run and you know I'm going to give props to Denise Diaz here as our VP or the head creative in marketing and she we've always had. The one swag that you get as a Terry Fox run is every year they do a different t-shirt and there's a different kind of theme around that t-shirt. But we've really decided that Terry Fox is not just a cancer advocate. He is also an inspiration for his determination and perseverance and so it's more than just about cancer.
Speaker 2:
And, you know, although what happened to him, you know, could say that it's tragic and it's terrible and it's something that he should have been ashamed about or upset about, but his attitude was that he, for the first time in his life, as he said, you know, he wasn't selfish. He understood the answer to being happy was to give to others and he made his run not about the corporate sponsorships or this was way before social media. So he didn't do it for likes and follows, he did it for the kids and he wanted everyone to understand that cancer needed to be talked about. Even it wasn't talked about. It was the C word. You got the C word, oh, shh, shh, you know, and it was a death sentence.
Speaker 2:
And he, as I, started by saying you know all these runs. Now that you know you're talking about one cancer or another, you know, this guy changed the game, he changed the world, and so he's an inspiration, not just about cancer. It's about his determination to do something that was superhuman and the limits that there are no limits to the human mind and the human perseverance. And that's why the schools run and the schools are so taken by Terry Fox and his story.
Speaker 1:
It's truly inspirational because it's something that's carried on all these years. That's 40 plus years now and he's still raising money for such an amazing cause and fighting the fight.
Speaker 2:
You know there's schools named after Terry Fox, there's a mountain named after Terry Fox, there's multiple monuments about Terry Fox in the world, across Canada and the 25th anniversary there was the coin the Canadian dollar coin with Terry Fox's image on it. You know, 50, his 50th anniversary is 2030, which is not that far away, and that's my goal, my personal goal. You know, of the UK, you know we've got to be, you know, better than New York, because I think London, you know, is better than New York. We can all agree that on this podcast, we can and we need to have more participants, have more money raised. You know I have this goal of a million pounds to be raised by 2030, the run in 2030. You know we're a quarter of the way there, but you know we're just getting, we're just building steam now and I, you know it's a, it's a big goal, but in 2030, you know, we're going to look back and we're going to see this is the 50th anniversary of Terry Fox and I want every Brit, british person to know who Terry Fox is and understand.
Speaker 2:
There's one more thing I'm going to say in this podcast. They're revealing a lot World first year. Terry's grandmother was born in Sunderland, england, you know he is a quarter British. And Canada, you know, kind of hogs him as a Canada's hero. But you know, for the Brits, for what we do, we keep the money in the UK we celebrate this Canadian that's a quarter British, you know the Brits can claim them too, and that's why I think it's so exciting that the UK is embracing the runs. We have now five runs. We're building something very, very special here.
Speaker 1:
It's amazing. I think it's worth mentioning the Maple Leaf Trust as well.
Speaker 2:
Yeah yes.
Speaker 2:
One of the important things for me. You know, when I started it I didn't want it to end. If I, you know, got hit by a bus or, you know, inevitably didn't want to pass the torch. So I want to leave a legacy and it's Terry Fox's legacy. I want to leave a legacy and it's Terry Fox's legacy I want to leave.
Speaker 2:
So, although I'm the chair and I'm the inspiration to date, there is the Maple Leaf Trust. That is a Canadian charity for Canadian causes. That's in the UK for the Canadian cause and this charity for the Canadian cause and this charity along with three others, including the Terry Fox. We're not going to announce that just yet because it depends on a number of different things, but the Maple Leaf Trust, as the home of Canadian causes to Canadian charity causes in the UK, has been around since the 1940s and has supported Canadian veterans living in the UK. There's also the Canadian Memorial and the Canada-UK Foundation. Both of them support education and different causes that are common between Canada and the UK and I can't think of a better place for that legacy to endure but with our friends at the Maple Leaf Trust. And so we're just negotiating an agreement to have cancer research kind of be another pillar in their cause.
Speaker 1:
So we're looking forward to seeing you in Trafalgar Square on Sunday, june the 30th, and not only are you going to be on the main stage, you're going to have a tent in Trafalgar Square. So tell me about that.
Speaker 2:
Well, this is a really a great way to be introduced to the Terry Fox story and really the vibe. I can't say enough about the volunteers that we have and the dedication that we're all volunteers. I mean, I do have a full time job and I do this completely volunteer, but I couldn't do it without all of the all of the other, but I couldn't do it without all of the other and they're too numerous to name. But I want all your listeners to know, come down to Canada Day in Trafalgar Square. Sorry, sunday, so it's a Sunday afternoon, 12 to 8. You're going to have food trucks. You're going to have an NHL like hockey Don't call it ice hockey or know, might drop the gloves on you, ok, so hockey reference, but ice hockey NHL. You know we're going to have. We're going to have a lot of Canadiana for you. Some food trucks is a huge stage and some and some Canadian games to meet the Mounties. You know our, our, our RCMP and many, many other things to do. What we are going to do, like we did last year, is really have an education around Terry Fox to promote not only the run but Countess Hero, and we have t-shirts for sale. This year is Ryan Reynolds t-shirt for sale. You probably get last year's Ryan Reynolds t-shirt for sale. This year is Ryan Reynolds t-shirt for sale. You probably get last year's Ryan Reynolds t-shirt for sale if you're a real Ryan Reynolds fan.
Speaker 2:
We have all the volunteers. We have different pictures, videos like poster boards around the Terry Fox story. There's people to ask questions about Terry Fox. You can register for the run IT show. Donate to cancer research. We're also going to have the cancer team there that your donation goes towards and they're all from the United Nations around the world. But they live all here and they study all. They all study here at the Institute of Cancer Research and make london their home and uh, so ask them questions about, uh, cancer.
Speaker 2:
Um, we're gonna have some fun things to do. We always have fun. We keep it light. Our, our volunteers are are amazing and dedicated and there's going to be a a ton of them. I don't't know where all going to fit because the tent. Just tell John, we need like probably three times the size this year, not a double size tent. So we're going to. We're going to have to. We're going to have to do that because, you know, our run and our cause just gets better and better, just like the Canada day. London I know what John is is is putting on is going to be so much bigger and better than last year, and you know that's what it's all about.
Speaker 1:
It's the most beautiful setting because it's in Trafalgar Square, with Canada House there beside it with all the Canadian flags. You couldn't ask for anything better in London.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, and so I did say this before. But you know there is going to be a series of different Canadian bands up on stage. So it's a music festival, it's food festival, it's a good time, and we've got a bunch of other other things a lot of Canadiana going out to fill your days. And then the bands they've got some great bands this year, but at 4.30, we've got a slot to talk about the Terry Fox Run UK, not only in London but with a tie-in with the Declan Swans and the Wrexham Run in Wales in October, and then they're going to play that famous song that you're never going to get out of your head. You're going to be stuck, like me, on stage live.
Speaker 2:
And we're going to have a lot of people from Wrexham there too. They travel with their own roadies, and so I'm a little worried about, you know, getting the Welsh people and the Canadians together, and so I'm a little worried about you know, getting the Welsh people and the Canadians together. You know a lot of Molson, canadian drank and moosehead beer and a whole bunch of stuff. You know, watch out world. You know. That's all I can say.
Speaker 2:
It's going to be a party, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:
I can't wait. I'm looking forward to it and I'm going to be mooching around to all the different tents. I'll be backstage, I'll be around Trafalgar Square capturing it all and putting it out there for the world. So I'm excited for the big day, and it's getting bigger and bigger by the day. I think we're able to say that, and there's lots of surprises about to happen as well. You bet yeah, yeah. Thank you, neil. This has been a great chat.
Speaker 2:
Thank you, it's been amazing.
Speaker 1:
Thank you for having me as your, as your first guest, so great, it's the run up to Canada, london, and I can't think of anything better than the Terry Fox Run UK.