(Flickr / Cactus Forest)

With the annual Terry Fox Run being literally around the corner (September 14), now is as good of a time as any to remind everyone about what it is he ran for and the hope that it brought. 

What is it that Terry ran for? In March of 1977, Terry was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma (a form of cancer that often starts near the knee) and the only solution was to amputate his leg 15cm above the knee. During his time undergoing treatment in the cancer ward, he witnessed many sufferings, and he couldn’t bring himself to ignore them. 

It was with this resolve that he would set out on a marathon across Canada in hopes of raising money for cancer research, and that marathon it would be named the Marathon of Hope. 

https://x.com/TerryFoxCanada/status/1886800965975605602

To Terry, it wasn’t about fame, it was about making a change and funding a cure for all cancers. The Marathon of Hope, a marathon across Canada starting in Newfoundland and Labrador all the way across to British Columbia. 

On April 12, 1980, Terry dipped his artificial leg in the Atlantic Ocean and began his trek across the land. Every day he would get started early in the morning at 4:30am and often end at 7pm. Terry ran nearly 42 kilometres every day. From Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario. No matter if it was rain, or shine, snow or storm, he would run. 

Terry Fox stopped in over 400 schools, towns, and cities where he spoke about why he was running. 

However, the Marathon was not meant to be. 

On September 1st, Terry was forced to stop. Cancer appeared in his lungs. But even when Terry was stuck in the hospital bed, he kept fighting, he continued to raise awareness on cancer, on the importance of donating to cancer research, and the importance of never giving up.  

Terry over the course of the Marathon of Hope had manage to raise over $24.17 million in cancer research. And thanks to Terry efforts, he had raised awareness of cancer and lit a flame in the hearts of all Canadians. Starting a new tradition, the Terry Fox Run takes place in September.  

The Terry Fox Run is now in its 45th year of running. 

If you want to know more about the Terry Fox Run or Terry Fox himself, I highly recommend going to https://terryfox.org/ as I skipped a lot of details. 

And with that I hope you learned something and maybe even decide to contribute to the cause. 

Written by: Matthew Lin 

Contact: mlin114@my.bcit.ca