Remembering Terry Fox

Canadian Terry Fox on his "Marathon of Hope" in 1980

Tomorrow millions of Canadians  will hit the ground running in honor of one Terry Fox. For those who don't know this inspiring story, Terry was a cancer patient which had taken his left leg and during his treatment he was disappointed with the amount of money that went towards fighting cancer. He was a runner and originally told friends and family that he wanted to run a marathon to raise funds. Secretly though, he had a grander plan: He wanted to run across Canada, from the Atlantic Ocean in St. John's, Newfoundland to the Pacific Ocean in Victoria, British Columbia while running a marathon (26 miles) every day.

Terry Fox left St. John's on April 12, 1980. During the first part of the run through the Maritimes (Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island) and Quebec Terry was disappointed with how the run was going. However, by the time he arrived in Montreal on June 22nd, a third of the way through his journey, he had raised over $200,000.

The tide turned however when he crossed into Ontario. Throughout the province, he received a police escort and was received to large crowds in both Ottawa and Toronto, all while not taking a day off during his run. The Canadian Cancer Society estimated they had collected $100,000 from Terry's run in Toronto alone, including a $25,000 check from hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Orr. Sadly, just outside of Thunder Bay on September 1st, Terry stopped running because of chest pain and coughing. The next day, Terry broke the tragic news: His cancer had returned and had spread to his lungs. Terry Fox had raised $1.7 million on his "Marathon of Hope".

Despite the fact that Terry did not want anyone to continue his run, the people of Canada figuratively continued his mission. A week after Terry ended his run, a telethon was broadcast across Canada and raised $10.7 million, including $1 million donations each from the province of Ontario and his home province of British Columbia that would further cancer research. Terry was also honored with many honors, including a Companion of the Order of Canada, the highest honor a civilian Canadian can receive, and the Lou Marsh Award for 1980 as Canada's top sportsman. A year after Terry started his marathon, he had helped raise over $23 million.

Unfortunately, the success could not translate to help Terry's health. He was not responding well to treatments and he was hospitalized with pneumonia in June 1981. Terry fell into a coma and died on June 28, 1981. The Canadian government lowered flags to half staff, an honor unheard of for civilians while his funeral was broadcast on national television and is beloved to this day by the Canadian people for his heroism, determination, and courage.

Before Terry died, businessman Isadore Sharp contacted Terry about doing a fund raising run in Terry's name. Terry agreed with two conditions: 1) The run would be non-competitive and 2) Like his run, there would be no corporate sponsorship. This year is the 30th anniversary of the run and the Terry Fox Foundation has raised more than $500 million for cancer research worldwide.

(DISCLOSURES: My aunt and cousin are running in the 30th Terry Fox Run in Waterloo, ONT tomorrow. Also, if you're interested in learning more about Terry's story visit www.terryfox.org or check out the ESPN "30 for 30" documentary entitled "Into the Wind" directed by Steve Nash and Ezra Holland premiering Sept. 28th at 8 PM ET on ESPN and repeating at 11 PM ET on ESPN2.)