22nd annual Run/Walk for Hope slated Sunday

BANGOR – One of Maine’s best road racing traditions will continue Sunday.

The 22nd annual Run/Walk for Hope, which follows the tradition of past Terry Fox Runs, will be held starting at the Best Western White House Inn off Exit 180 of I-95 at 11:30 a.m.

The race does continue to honor Terry Fox, however. This year’s Terry Fox award will be presented to Joan Merriam in memory of her late husband, Fred, who died of cancer in June. Fred Merriam will be honored for his active role in the Maine road racing community.

Merriam served as a timekeeper for past Fox runs and also competed in them. Fox was a one-legged runner who attempted a transcontinental run across Canada to raise funds for cancer research before succumbing to cancer a second time and dying in 1981.

All proceeds from the race will benefit cancer prevention studies and clinical trials such as breast, prostate, lung, colon and other cancers at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

Awards include age groups, top male and female overall finisher and prize drawings. The first 200 runners to register get a T-shirt. Registration is $10 per individual, and shirts are $5. Donations from those who aren’t competing can be sent to Run for Hope, c/o Best Western White House Inn, 155 Littlefield Avenue, Bangor, ME 04401.

For more information contact 862-8008, Ext. 122, or Peter Daigle, race director, 843-5022 (h) or 745-2084 (c).