The Terry Fox Run is coming up in less than a week.
It’s the 40th anniversary of the run, which will be held virtually this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Terry Fox’s older brother Fred — who now works for the Terry Fox Foundation as a manager of support relations — says some schools across the country may even hold in-person Terry Fox runs.
“What ever they can do in, fundraising, remembering Terry, continuing Terry, using Terry as an example and an inspiration,” Fox said. “It’s amazing 40 years later, there’s new generations learning about Terry every day.”
Fox says when Terry started his run in 1980, no one could have imagined how far it would go.
“Terry wanted to set an example, wanted to impact cancer research. He wanted people to recognize and remember what he did and what he sacrificed in 1980,” Fox said. “But (he) could have never imagined the Terry Fox Run being 41 years old.”
Since it’s inception, the Terry Fox Run has raised over $850 million, according to the Foundation’s website.
Fox says cancer research has come a long way since 1980.
“I get a chance to travel across Canada in normal times and visit with families at schools and community events, and they come up to me and say ‘our family member is here today because of what terry started in 1980,’ or ‘we had an extra five or 10 years with a family member because they were able to live with their cancer,’ and the research made that happen.”
There are several ways to donate to the Foundation this year. A link to do so can be found here.