Photo: Murray McNeil

A 10-year-old boy decided to follow in Terry Fox’s footsteps and raised nearly $1,600 for the BC Cancer Foundation by running from Salmon Arm to Enderby.

Jack McNeil, a Grade 5 student at Bastion Elementary School, was so inspired after hearing about Terry Fox that he decided he had to do something to make a difference.

“Jack knows both cancer victims and survivors,” said Lana McNeil, Jack’s mother. “So he wanted to do something like what Terry had done and raise money to help people affected by cancer.”

Jack’s original idea was to flee Salmon Arm to Vancouver, but his parents, Lana and Sgt. Murray McNeil of the Sicamous RCMP Detachment was able to help him achieve a more achievable goal.

They opted for a more reasonable 23 kilometer run from Salmon Arm to Enderby.

It was determined that Lana would run alongside Jack for safety reasons and that they would split the race over two days.

“I said it would probably be easier for you and obviously mom to run in two different sprints,” she explained.

On Friday, November 8, Jack and his mother set out on the first leg of their 11 kilometer journey from Shuswap General Hospital to Mellors Country Supermarket.

“The first day, the weather was perfect,” she remembers. “It was dry, the pavement was dry and it was pretty cold, so it worked really well.”

Jack colored his own custom t-shirt that said “Jack Leads 4 Cancer Research” on the front and “BC Cancer Foundation” on the back.

When they ran the second leg the next day, Saturday November 9, the weather was not as cooperative.

“When we started in Mellors… we got out of the truck and it was already raining,” she said. “We started out wet and by the time we got to Sutherland’s Bakery in Enderby we were both soaked.”

Still, the rainy weather couldn’t dampen Jack’s spirits.

“At the Enderby bakery we had friends and family, one of her boyfriends also came to cheer her on and we also had the Enderby RCMP,” she said. “When he saw the flashing lights, he literally left me in the dust.”

“He was fine, mom, I’m running,” she added. “And he just sprinted.”

Lana said Jack didn’t train much before the race because he already had pretty good cardio fitness from hockey and competitive swimming.

When planning the race, they looked for the easiest way to raise money for cancer research through the race and the BC Cancer Foundation was quick to respond.

“I contacted a few cancer societies and the BC Cancer Foundation responded immediately,” she explained.

A representative from the BC Cancer Foundation set them up with a donation page.

“It was really easy to do and she was very supportive, so we really appreciate that,” she added.

Lana said her entire family is proud of Jack’s incredible achievement.

“My husband and I are really proud, and his sister is also really proud of him.”

She added that they also appreciate the community support Jack has received along his journey, they have long surpassed his original goal of raising $500.

“Initially, that was our goal, and we exceeded it before we even started running,” she said. “And then when we started running, we went over $1,000.”

As of writing this article, Jack has raised $1,580 and he hopes to collect a few more donations before he runs his final 5 miles this weekend.

The final route will depart from Shuswap General Hospital, travel the Trans-Canada Highway to the DeMille Farmers Market on the west side of Salmon Arm.

“It’s kind of an inspiration for us too, like our little guy, who set a really big challenge for himself,” Lana said. “He kept saying, I’m doing this. I will do it.

Outside of hockey and his passion for Terry Fox, Jack is also a passionate writer.

“He does a lot of mini-comics, and I probably have I don’t know how many stacks of his books he’s done over the years,” she said.

“I don’t know what will happen next. It’s going to be as much of a surprise to everyone as it is to us, but whatever he comes up with, like racing, we’ll be there to support him and help him achieve it.

Photo: Murray McNeil