Launch of Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope
Terry Fox set out to cross Canada on a prosthetic leg to raise money for cancer research. He could not finish the route, but the effort became a movement that continued without him.
On April 12, 1980, Terry Fox dipped his prosthetic leg into the Atlantic at St. John’s, Newfoundland, and began running west. He was twenty-one and had lost his right leg to cancer. His plan was to cross Canada, running close to a marathon each day and asking people to support cancer research.
The early weeks brought difficult weather, pain and little attention. His friend Doug Alward accompanied him in a support van, and his brother Darrell later joined the team. Donations came from people along the route, with communities helping turn a solitary-looking run into a shared effort.
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Image: Simon Fraser University - Communications & Marketing