Terry Fox has been described by many as the GOAT – the greatest of all time – but that’s not how he saw himself.
Terry Fox was an ordinary 18 year-old when he was diagnosed with cancer and had to have one of his legs amputated just above the knee. His experience in cancer wards – and especially his experience seeing children fighting cancer – led him to realize that more money was needed to study and fight cancer.
At 20 years old, in 1980, Terry Fox began his Marathon of Hope. His goal was to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research. His hope was to raise $1 from each Canadian – that would have been $25 million at the time. He started by dipping his prosthetic leg in the water of the Atlantic Ocean and started running a marathon a day – 42 km a day - on his way to the Pacific. Others have done similar runs since, but Terry was the first; a run like his had never been done before.
Terry did not finish his run. His cancer returned and he was forced to stop 5373 km into his run, by Thunder Bay Ontario. He did not survive cancer this time but, at the time of his death, he HAD raised over $25 million for cancer research.
Since 1981, Canadians and people around the world have picked up where Terry left off. Terry Fox Runs are run every year all around the globe and runs like the one we are doing on the 2nd have raised over $850 million dollars!
Almost everyone knows someone who has been affected by cancer. Terry Fox once said, “I want to set an example that will never be forgotten.” Thank you for joining Terry Fox’s run and Terry Fox’s fight and following Terry Fox’s example. You, the students of Centennial, have not forgotten the example he set. You are his legacy.