Ben Guillemin (forefront) anchored the Prince Albert Police Service to victory at the Terry Fox Relay Race on Saturday at the Harry Jerome Track. Jeff D'Andrea/paNOW Staff

By Jeff D'Andrea

Terry Fox relay race

P.A. police regain Terry Fox relay race title

Sep 13, 2020 | 8:44 AM

After a one-year absence, the Prince Albert Police Service (PAPS) reclaimed the top spot at the annual Terry Fox Relay Race Saturday at the Harry Jerome Track.

The police department’s Ben Guillemin, Hilary Hood, Ron Myers, and Brett Friesen beat the defending champions from Parkland Ambulance by about half of a yard. The race was so close officials needed to review a video replay to confirm that police anchor Ben Guillemin was the first to cross the finish line.

Sgt. Josh Peterson, the PAPS relay team coach who assembled the team, was happy to see his team regain the trophy.

“We’ve won it a couple times in the last few years, but Parkland has always been a thorn in our side. We have a pretty friendly rivalry with them. I’ve been getting a few photos sent to me from Jordan Ambrose who assembled their team. I really didn’t want to see anymore after today, so I was pretty happy to see how hard our team ran,” Peterson said.

Although bragging rights against Parkland and the Prince Albert Fire Department are always fun to get, there’s a lot more to the event than that. It’s about honouring the late Terry Fox, who ran halfway across Canada on one leg to raise money for cancer research. This year is the 40^th anniversary of Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope.

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Malcolm Jenkins from Canadian Tire presents the trophy to the Prince Albert Police Service for winning the Terry Fox Relay Race. (From left to right) Ben Guillemin, Hilary Hood, Malcolm Jenkins, Ron Myers and Brett Friesen. Jeff D’Andrea/paNOW Staff

Saturday’s race raised $1,500 towards cancer research and awareness, ahead of the virtual Terry Fox race on Sept. 20.

“Growing up, we’d always read about Terry Fox in school and what he did. For people that have run a marathon, the fact that he ran one every day—that’s incredible,” Peterson said. “One fortunate thing about being a first responder is we get to participate in events like this. We get to raise some money and get to have a friendly rivalry with our friends from the fire department and Parkland Ambulance.”

Race committee member Vicki Green said the organizers were a little concerned about holding the race during the pandemic, as people have become cautious. She applauded everybody, especially the race participants from the police, fire, and paramedic departments.

“I think it speaks to their dedication to their whole realm of how they operate,” Green said. “I think it’s fantastic that they chose to continue to support Terry Fox. It’s fantastic that they could make it.”

The virtual race will go on from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. next Sunday. There will be volunteers at the Alfred Jenkins Field House, the normal home of the race, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to collect donations.

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW