Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope came to a stop in 1980, but the national icon’s desire to raise money for cancer research has burned eternal.
The Marathon of Hope, started April 12, 1980 when the then 21-year-old departed St. John’s, Nfld. to begin his trek across Canada looking to raise $24 million, or $1 per each of the nation’s 24 million citizens.
Fox’s run came to an end with a tearful press conference as he sat outside an ambulance announcing he had developed cancer for a second time. Just 143 days and 5,373 kilometres after he dipped his right leg into the Atlantic Ocean, Fox told reporters he held no disappointment for failing his cross-country run.
“I’m happy with what I did, I tried my hardest, I did my very best.
“It there’s any way I can finish it off next year or the years after, I’ll be there. I can’t do it any more right now. I fainted this afternoon just walking cross the road.”
He had raised $1.5 million when he had to pause the run on Sept. 2, 1980.
The News is looking back at notable events from Medicine Hat’s history leading up to the celebration of our 140th publishing year later this fall.
The stories at the time were brief, Fox’s pause was expected to be just that, put on hold while he recovered from his second cancer diagnosis. The Port Coquitlam, B.C. product was diagnosed with osteosarcoma and had his right leg amputated in 1977. He began training to run his marathon and officially began the Marathon of Hope on April 12, 1980.
Fox made it through the Maritimes on June 10 and faced unique challenges entering Quebec due to the language difference, before arriving in Montreal on June 22, the official one-third mark of his 8,000 km journey, with $200,000 in donations.
He then crossed into Ontario, performing a ceremonial kickoff at a Canadian Football League game between the Ottawa Rough Riders and Saskatchewan Roughriders on July 1 before meeting Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau the next day.
On July 11 he reached Toronto to a crowd of 10,000 people, raising $100,000 in the day according to the Cancer Society. He turned 22 on July 28 and 33 days later, outside Thunder Bay, Ont., he stopped briefly due to pain in his neck and chest. He went to the hospital that day and the next day shared his painful news, that the cancer had returned and spread to his lungs.
In the days following, $6.5 million was raised in five hours during a telethon (Sept. 7) featuring celebrities and notable Canadians, including Anne Murray, Daryl Sittler, Karen Kain, Toller Cranston, as well as Elton John and John Denver.
On Sept. 19, Fox was made a companion of the Order of Canada, the youngest person ever to receive the country’s highest civilian honour.
In December of the same year, Fox was unanimously named winner of the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s athlete of the year, and is voted as Canadian Press Newsmaker of the year, the first of consecutive years.
On Feb. 1, 1981, the Marathon of Hope reached the $24.17-million total, reaching Fox’s goal of raising one dollar for every person in Canada.
After undergoing months of treatment for his cancer, Fox contracted pneumonia in June 1981 and slipped into a coma on June 27.
He died on June 28, one month before his 23rd birthday.
The Terry Fox Run is ran annually across Canada and celebrates the 45th running this fall.
