Terry Fox

Fox, (Terry) Terrance Stanley
Terrance Stanley Fox (Terry), "Marathon of Hope" runner (b at Winnipeg 28 July 1958; d at New Westminster, BC 28 June 1981). Terry Fox was a good athlete studying kinesiology when, in 1977, it was discovered he had osteogenic sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. It was necessary to amputate most of one leg. While recovering, he developed the idea for a "Marathon of Hope" - a run across Canada to raise money and generate publicity for cancer research. After extensive training, he began his run at St John's on 12 April 1980 and ended it on September 1 in Thunder Bay, Ontario, after cancer was discovered in his lungs. During that period, he had run 5373 km at a pace of nearly 40 km per day. Inspiring millions of people around the world, he drew nationwide attention and raised $1.7 million. Gripped by an outpouring of emotion, Canadians donated an additional $23 million to the fund. For his efforts, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada and a BC mountain was named after him. Thousands annually participate in a fund-raising run named after him.

Author J. THOMAS WEST

Links to Other Sites
The Terry Fox Foundation
The website for the Terry Fox Foundation. Find out about Terry’s life and legacy as well as related events and research projects around.

Canadian Heroes in Fact and Fiction
See brief profiles and bibliographies for many notable historical Canadian figures (real and fictional). From Library and Archives Canada.

Terry Fox's legacy of hope
Features CBC video news clips and stories about Terry Fox's memorable and courageous run to raise funds for cancer research. Includes links to related learning activites.

Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute
The website for the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute (formerly the National Cancer Institute of Canada). Find out about current funding programs as well as the latest clinical trials, research projects, and cancer statistics.

Encounters With Canada
Encounters With Canada is a one-week program of Canadian studies held at The Terry Fox Canadian Youth Centre, in Ottawa. From mid September to early December and from late January to early May, more than 138 high school students per week, aged 14 – 17 come from across the country to our nation's capital for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Betty Fox, mother of Terry Fox, dies in B.C.
A CTV News obituary for cancer crusader Betty Fox, mother of Terry Fox.

Terry Fox Tribute
See a video clip featuring the presentation of a multimedia tribute to Terry Fox at the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Ceremony. From YouTube.

Terry Fox memorial unveiled
View a video of the unveiling in Vancouver of a series of four statues depicting the gait of Terry Fox running on his artificial leg. The designer, Douglas Coupland, stated that his statues mean that hundreds of years from now, people will be reminded of Fox's legacy. From theglobeandmail.com.