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This Sunday marks the 25th Anniversary of Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope. Terry Fox is not only a Canadian icon, but international symbol of hope and accomplishment.
Terry Fox lost his right leg to cancer at 18 years of age. At 22 he was curly haired, good-looking and sunburned. He was strong, wilful and stubborn. His run, the Marathon of Hope , as he called it, a quixotic adventure across Canada that defied logic and common sense, was his way of repaying a debt.
Terry believed that he had won his fight against cancer, and he wanted to raise money, $1 million perhaps, to fight the disease. There was a second, possibly more important purpose to his marathon; a man is not less because he has lost a leg, indeed, he may be more. Certainly, he showed there were no limits to what an amputee could do.
He changed people's attitude towards the disabled, and he showed that while cancer had claimed his leg, his spirit was unbreakable.
His Marathon of Hope had started as an improbable dream – two friends, one to drive the van, one to run, a ribbon of highway, and the sturdy belief that they could perform a miracle.
He ran through ice storms and summer heat, against bitter winds of such velocity he couldn't move, through fishing villages and Canada's biggest cities. Though he shunned the notion himself, people were calling him a hero. He still saw himself as simple little Terry Fox, from Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, average in everything but determination.
This amazing young man ran the equivalent of a marathon every day for 143 days. No mean achievement for an able-bodied runner, an extraordinary feat for an amputee.
Terry made it to Thunder Bay Ontario where he had to stop. The cancer had entered his lungs. He died less than a year later. At that time his dream was to raise one million dollars for cancer research, a lofty goal in Canada at that time. The people of Canada and the world opened their hearts to that charismatic young man, and today The Terry Fox Foundation has raised over 350 million dollars for cancer research.
I encourage all my exercise forum friends to get out tomorrow and run, walk or cycle in Terry's memory. There are thousands of Terry Fox Runs across Canada tomorrow to participate in and if you live outside Canada just get out in your own neighbourhood.
For me, it will be my first 10K run. I couldn't think of a more appropriate event.
Diana
Terry Fox lost his right leg to cancer at 18 years of age. At 22 he was curly haired, good-looking and sunburned. He was strong, wilful and stubborn. His run, the Marathon of Hope , as he called it, a quixotic adventure across Canada that defied logic and common sense, was his way of repaying a debt.
Terry believed that he had won his fight against cancer, and he wanted to raise money, $1 million perhaps, to fight the disease. There was a second, possibly more important purpose to his marathon; a man is not less because he has lost a leg, indeed, he may be more. Certainly, he showed there were no limits to what an amputee could do.
He changed people's attitude towards the disabled, and he showed that while cancer had claimed his leg, his spirit was unbreakable.
His Marathon of Hope had started as an improbable dream – two friends, one to drive the van, one to run, a ribbon of highway, and the sturdy belief that they could perform a miracle.
He ran through ice storms and summer heat, against bitter winds of such velocity he couldn't move, through fishing villages and Canada's biggest cities. Though he shunned the notion himself, people were calling him a hero. He still saw himself as simple little Terry Fox, from Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, average in everything but determination.
This amazing young man ran the equivalent of a marathon every day for 143 days. No mean achievement for an able-bodied runner, an extraordinary feat for an amputee.
Terry made it to Thunder Bay Ontario where he had to stop. The cancer had entered his lungs. He died less than a year later. At that time his dream was to raise one million dollars for cancer research, a lofty goal in Canada at that time. The people of Canada and the world opened their hearts to that charismatic young man, and today The Terry Fox Foundation has raised over 350 million dollars for cancer research.
I encourage all my exercise forum friends to get out tomorrow and run, walk or cycle in Terry's memory. There are thousands of Terry Fox Runs across Canada tomorrow to participate in and if you live outside Canada just get out in your own neighbourhood.
For me, it will be my first 10K run. I couldn't think of a more appropriate event.
Diana
Found the slippery slope: March/April 2006
Completely fell off wagon: August 2006
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