The Canadian tradition of keeping Terry’s dream alive continued Sunday with the Annual Terry Fox Run.
“It’s like a tradition,” said Julia Fortin of Team Ouimet Farm in Vankleek Hill, as she and her fellow Fox Trotters gathered at Voyageur Provincial Park near Chute-à-Blondeau early in the morning September 14. “We all support the Foundation.”
Terry Fox was a high school and university athlete, who lost a leg in 1977 due to cancer. In 1980 he began the Marathon of Hope, a cross-Canada run to raise money for and public awareness about cancer research. He ran the equivalent of a full marathon distance each day, starting out from St. John’s, Newfoundland after dipping a foot into the Atlantic Ocean. His goal was to cross Canada to Victoria on Vancouver Island in B.C. and finish his run by dipping a foot into the Pacific Ocean.
Although there was little public notice or fanfare when he set out from St. John’s April 12 1980, his progress, often through foul weather, through the Maritimes, Québec, and into Ontario soon gained both national and international attention and support. He continued his daily run, despite shin splints and an inflamed knee, until September 1, outside of Thunder Bay, when shortness of breath, severe chest pain, and coughing fit forced him to stop. A trip to the hospital resulted in a diagnosis that his cancer had returned and metastasized to his lungs.
Terry Fox ran 5,373 kilometres in 143 days and had raised more than $1.7 million for the Canadian Cancer Society. He hoped to continue the run getting treatment for his second bout with cancer. He died June 28 1981.
The last words reported from Terry Fox were: “If I don’t make it, the Marathon of Hope must continue.”
Since then the Terry Fox Run has become an annual tradition across Canada and around the world wherever there are Canadians.
“Terry Fox is my hero,” said Ria Korno of Hawkesbury. “He was a brave young man.”
“I know so many people who have or had cancer,” said Linda Groulx, a Hawkesbury resident who has done 40 Terry Fox Runs. “I just want to give back.”
“We all know people who had cancer,” said Paul Lacombe of Team Pharmacie Alfred Pharmachoix.
More information on Terry Fox and his dream of an end to cancer, the Marathon of Hope, the Terry Fox Foundation and how to donate to cancer research is available at https://terryfox.org/.
