Fox, Terry (1958-1981), was a courageous young Canadian athlete. Fox had only one leg but tried to run across Canada in 1980 to help raise money for cancer research.
Terrance Stanley Fox was born on July 28, 1958, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He grew up in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia. Fox’s right leg was amputated above the knee because of bone cancer in 1977, and he was given an artificial leg. The suffering he witnessed in the cancer wards where he was treated inspired Fox to make his run. He trained for 15 months and began the run in April 1980 at St. John’s, Newfoundland. Fox called it the “Marathon of Hope” and averaged nearly a marathon, or about 26 miles (42 kilometers), a day for 143 days. He traveled through snow, hail, and intense heat. Fox ran 3,339 miles (5,374 kilometers). He was forced to stop near Thunder Bay, Ontario, on September 1 after learning that cancer had spread to his lungs. Fox was hospitalized, and he died on June 28, 1981. His run raised about $25 million for cancer research.
Before Fox died, he was appointed to the Order of Canada, one of the nation’s highest civilian honors. In 2005, the Royal Canadian Mint issued a one-dollar coin commemorating Terry Fox. Runs in his memory are held yearly in Canada to raise money for cancer research. Fox’s run inspired Steve Fonyo, another Canadian who had lost a leg to cancer. In 1985, at the age of 19, Fonyo completed a 14-month, 4,924-mile (7,920-kilometer) run across Canada.
