Skip to content

PHOTOS: Walnut Grove run keeps Terry’s – and Jason’s – legacy going

The Walnut Grove Terry Fox Run has a very special meaning for a mom and daughter.
37156langleyadvancewgterryfoxrun5c
During Sunday morning’s Terry Fox Run in Walnut grove Alenna Langhorst and her daughter Jessi ran for Alenna’s husband





Cancer took Jason Langhorst from his family and friends.

But his wife Alenna and daughter Jessi kept Jason's memory alive by slipping on their running shoes and taking part in the Walnut Grove Terry Fox Run, which started early Sunday morning from the Walnut Grove Community Centre parking lot.

Jessi was only six years old when Jason died from colorectal cancer on Aug. 30, 2011.

He was 41 years old.

Jessi wore a tag on the back of her shirt, noting that she was running for “dad.”

And Alenna said the Terry Fox Run, and its cause – raising funds for cancer research through the Terry Fox Foundation – is emotional for her.

Alenna said her husband was very athletic.

“He was a triathlete, so sports was a big part of our family,” she said. “He also looked up to Terry Fox, so it’s that, you feel connected by doing things like this. Also, it’s a good cause for others who might be struggling with cancer.”

Alenna said Terry Fox started this legacy with his run 36 years ago and “to be able to be a part of it and see it grow to what it is today, it’s amazing what he started.”

Mom and daughter donated on site at the run.

Midori Turner with the Rotary Club of Langley Sunrise, which each year organizes the Walnut Grove run, said Sunday’s near perfect weather for a run/walk/roll helped bring out crowds.

(Read more below)

“The donations have really been flooding in, too,” she added.

Turner said the club looks at the Terry Fox Run as an integral part of this community.

“It’s a traditional event… and everybody comes out,” Turner said. “We have a lot of returning participants so, there’s a lot of enthusiasm around this.”

The Terry Fox Run is the world’s largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research.

• Click here for more photos from the Terry Fox Run in Walnut Grove and Langley City