Marathon of Hope


Terry Fox
Born July 28th, 1958, Terry Fox was raised in Port Coquitlam, BC where at the age of 18 was diagnose with Bone Cancer which caused his leg to be amputated. This did not stop Terry as he started the "Marathon of Hope" to raise money for cancer research. Running with a prosthetic leg he ran over 3,500 miles in a span of 143 days which has to be one of the greatest running accomplishments of all time. He died on June 28,1981, after his cancer had spread to his lungs. 


The Marathon of Hope Map

Cities
Running 26 miles a day Terry wanted to run all of Canada. He started his run at St. Johns, Canada, than ran through 59 more cities including Quebec, Montreal, and Toronto. He finished his run in Thunder Bay, Canada. 

Illness
As stated previously Terry fox was dealing with Bone cancer which caused him to amputate his leg at the young age of 18. He went into Remission for about 2 years and at the age of 21 when he was on his third month of his running journey the cancer came back and had spread to his lungs. He unfortunately passed away during his fourth month of his running journey. 

Doug Alward (Left), Terry Fox (Middle), and Darrell Fox(Right)

The Van
During his run Terry needed a place to sleep and to eat. The person who drove the van was Terry best friend Doug Alward. He was Terrys right hand man but living with each other grew to be difficult at some moments, a month into the run they brought along Darrel Fox (Terry's Brother) which turned out to be a good idea because of Darrel's fun and hopeful personality. 


Media and Press
As time went by during his running journey Terry got a lot of media and press coverage. Many people gathered when he ran by the big cities to cheer him on. Terry would make inspirational speeches on why he was running and to help donate to Cancer research. During the last month of his life/run it got to the point where the media and press became to demanding that it was effecting him physically and mentally. 

Why did he run?
When Terry was diagnose with cancer and saw the cruel life of having cancer it made him want to make an impact, a change. He didn't care for attention or the fame, he cared for the hundred of people who were dealing with cancer. That was the reason why he ran all those miles for, for the people who were struggling with cancer. 

Impact
Terry fox left a big impact on people's lives as he showed people how to have hope and to push through many adversities in life. During his run he gained over 750 million dollars for cancer research. Not only that but he was an inspiration for many people who had cancer. 


His legacy
Terry Fox was the youngest man honored "Companion of the order of Canada" which is an honor for someone who was a merit to Canada. He will be known as the man who ran for the people, a man who ran for hope, and a man who will always be an inspiration for all. Someone who can impact an entire country is someone who will be remembered for a very long time. Not only in the running community he is a big figure but in cancer research as well. He was a man who never gave up. 


How we honor Terry Fox
There are many schools named after Terry fox as well as statues all over Canada. The Terry Fox Foundation is one that still inspires people to run but also one which aids the fight of curing Cancer. Every year the Terry Fox Foundation sponsors "The Terry Fox Run" which is one of the biggest 5k runs of all of Canada. 

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