Truro man takes aim at $70,000 fundraising target for cancer research

TRURO, N.S. — You could say Wayne Woolfitt is going for gold in his golden years.
The 80-year-old grandfather has raised $68,000 and counting for upcoming Terry Fox Runs in Truro and Brookfield on Sept. 15. His fundraising target is $70,000 for cancer treatment research.
“My wife died of cancer, my mother died of cancer, four aunts and uncles died of cancer and that’s enough,” said Woolfitt. “It made me feel like doing something about it.”
Woolfitt, an avid walker for most of his life, plans to be at both the Truro and Brookfield Terry Fox events. His apartment wall is lined with certificates hailing his past achievements for the event, including a plaque from the Terry Fox Foundation.
Originally from Brookfield, Woolfitt has walked the streets in both his hometown and Truro, collecting donations for their Terry Fox Runs.
Nearly 40 years after Fox himself attempted his cross-Canada run for cancer research, Woolfitt had this to say of his lasting impact.
“He knew he was going to die,” said Woolfitt. “He won.”
While Woolfitt has not run across Canada, he still walks every day to stay healthy.
Averaging five to 10 miles per day, he walks all over Truro and enjoys being in nature and seeing wildlife in the woods.
Woolfitt regularly tracks and adds up his total walking distance, keeping meticulous records. In the last 24 years, he has walked a total of 56,412 miles. He reckons the total distance he has walked throughout his life is equal to two or three times around the Earth.
However, Woolfitt first started walking and running as a student at the University of Saskatchewan in the late 1950s and was a regular member on the university’s track and cross-country teams.
Since then, walking has kept him going through periods of mental illness, including a stay in hospital.
“I like to exercise my bones so I don’t grow old,” quipped Woolfitt. “People wave to you and know you because you walk.”
The Terry Fox Run in Truro is at 36 Arthur St. in Truro on Sept. 15. Registration is at 9 a.m. and the run/walk starts at 10 a.m. 
The Brookfield event on the same day is at the top of Carter Road. Registration is at noon and the walk/run begins at 1 p.m.