More than 40 years have passed, but the annual Terry Fox Run is as much a part of an annual tradition as it ever was, and that is as true in Greater Sudbury as it is anywhere else in Canada.
The annual run which was virtual in the past two years in Sudbury because of COVID, is live again this year.
Friends and supporters of the 42nd annual Terry Fox Run have already earmarked Sept. 18 as the day to take part in the yearly tribute and fundraiser in honour of the young Canadian who set out in 1980 to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.
It will be the same across Canada as many older Canadians remember the day Terry Fox ran through their town and how his legacy has had a lasting impact on the effort to beat cancer.
Fox was a 22-year-old from British Columbia who had lost his right leg to cancer at age 18. Fox was in recovery for nearly two years when he decided more money was needed for cancer research. With the help of friends he set off on a journey in April of 1980 to walk and run with his artificial leg, all across Canada. It was called the Marathon of Hope. Fox was in Sudbury on August 4, 1980.
Things came to an unhappy ending just a month later on Sept. 1 when Fox was forced to end his run. Cancer was discovered in his lungs.
Terry Fox died on June 28, 1981. The first-ever Terry Fox Run was held later that year in more than 800 communities across Canada. The annual run has now become part of the Canadian cultural landscape.
Melissa Dutrisac of Sudbury agrees. She is a member of the local organizing committee and was recently at an event to promote donations for the Sudbury event. Dutrisac said she encountered several children and asked them if they knew about Terry Fox.
"I was just so amazed. Every child I talked to knew who Terry Fox was. They're all really interested. So it's just amazing that yeah, like 40 years later this is still such a relevant thing and children are learning about him at school. And you know they have the Terry Fox runs at school and it's just really impressive," Dutrisac said.
She added that for her Fox represented nothing short of superhero status.
"So really to me he was a legend for Canada. He was just such an extraordinary person and just an incredible figure. You know, a figure of hope; a figure of determination; just someone to look up to," she said.
Dutrisac is encouraging people to be as generous with pledges for this year's event as they have been in the past. The organizers have set this year's target at $10,000.
"Yes, they can collect now. They can create a fundraising page on the Terry Fox Foundation website. There is a Sudbury page (which you can find here)," she said.
Participants can also download a pledge sheet from the national fundraising website.
Dutrisac said the run will be staged from the Grace Hartman Amphitheatre at Bell Park with one-kilometre, four-kilometre and 10-kilometre routes.
"In keeping with Terry's vision of the Terry Fox Run, this is a non-competitive and all-inclusive event, all are welcome. The route will be stroller friendly. It will be a nice activity for all," she said.
Check in is 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 18 with the actual start time at 10:45 a.m.
She added that as the Sept. 18 date draws near, some details might change and Dutrisac encourages residents to keep in touch with the local Terry Fox page to ensure they have up-to-date information.
Dutrisac said she knows there are residents who cannot take part but are still pleased to support the Terry Fox Foundation by making donations online.
Len Gillis covers health care and mining for Sudbury.com.
