MEMORABLE PEOPLE AND MEMORABLE MOMENTS
Terry Fox
When he dipped his prosthetic leg into the Atlantic Ocean off St. John’s, Nfld., and set out to run across Canada, few had heard of Terry Fox.
By the time the 22-year-old with a mop of dark curls and a determined run-and-hop gait made it to Northern Ontario, he had run deep into the hearts of Canadians.
Fox ran 5,373 kilometres — averaging a marathon a day — from April 12 to Sept 1, 1980, to raise money for cancer research. He did that, certainly, raising more money than any individual had before, but he also changed peoples’ attitudes about disability and inspired Canadians with his unbreakable spirit.
Days before Fox was finally forced to stop near Thunder Bay — the cancer that took his right leg had returned, this time in his lungs — he hadn’t felt well but, with people lining the road to see him run, he didn’t want to disappoint. For 143 days he had kept going, but eventually he couldn’t.
“All I can say is that if there’s anyway I can get out there again and finish it, I will,” Fox said.
He wasn’t able to — he died on June 28, 1981, one month before his 23rd birthday — but Canadians continue his Marathon of Hope through the annual Terry Fox Run.
He started out as a stubborn young man with a dream; he became national symbol of courage and determination.