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Fred Maas Starts His 30th & Last Terry Fox Run

30th Annual Terry Fox Run

Fred Maas led his 30th and last Terry Fox Run today at El Rancho de las Golondrinas.  The veteran math teacher is retiring after 41 years at the chalk board and 30 years at the starting line of Prep’s longest standing student fund raiser.  Former governor Jerry Apodaca, who ran in the first race in 1981, was on hand again, serving as the honorary starter. 

Maas and his son Dan launched the run to raise money for local cancer patients after hearing the story of Canadian high school student and cancer victim Terry Fox.  Over the years, Prep’s 7th and 8th grade students have raised enough money through the annual race to contribute $25,000 to the construction fund for the cancer wing at St. Vincent Hospital, and to create a permanent endowment for local cancer patients at the Santa Fe Community Foundation.  The fund currently has assets valued at just over $200,000.  Each year, two local families dealing with cancer are selected to receive assistance from the fund.

Prep’s race was the first known run in honor of Fox, and the only one completed before his death.  Despite a snowstorm the day of the first race, students elected to run anyway and raised some $3,000 for cancer patients.  Fox was able to wish the students luck via speaker phone just before the race started.

This year’s results have yet to be tallied, but in 2009 students raised over $7,500.