The Enduring Legacy of Terry Fox

“I wanted to set an example that would never be forgotten.” - Terry Fox

In 1980 a 21-year-old Terry Fox started his "Marathon of Hope", beginning what he hoped would take him from one coast of Canada to the other, and in the process, raise $1,000,000 for cancer research.

His right leg had been amputated above the knee and while in hospital, Terry was moved by the young children who were also battling cancer. Terry said it was the courage and resilience in those young kids that inspired him to run across the country. He wanted to help those children and others like them.

After running 5,373 kilometres - a marathon almost every single day - Terry had to stop running because the cancer that had taken his leg, had spread to his lungs.

Terry's incredible courage, dedication and perseverance inspired a nation, and still does to this day.

There are many remarkable elements to Terry’s “Marathon of Hope.” One is that he ran on a walking leg. The technology did not yet exist for a “running” prosthetic leg.

Another aspect of Terry’s superhuman run was the incredible physical exertion and pain he endured.

According to the Yale School of Medicine, runners should rest a full week after running a marathon.

Terry ran 143 marathons.

Terry ran a marathon. Every. Single. Day.

While he never got to complete his run across Canada, he accomplished something exponentially larger than he ever dreamed: his foundation has raised over $900,000,000.

His impact, his ongoing legacy, is the stuff of legends. 

Over 9,000 schools across the country will run for Terry. Terry Fox Runs are held in over 33 countries around the world, such is the impact he had.

Now, 44 years after his Marathon of Hope, Terry remains an inspiration to young and young-at-heart people all over the world.

Terry’s courageous run, his desire to help find a cure for cancer and the astonishing physical effort he gave and the money his foundation continues to generate, all combine to make Terry’s original quote come true.

He will never be forgotten.