It’s an iconic image: one young man on a rain-slicked highway, escorted front and back by police cars. The curly-haired runner has on a white t-shirt, grey gym shorts and his running shoes. He looks like a boxer with the way that he swings his arms.
He takes one step and then a kind of hop on the other foot because he only has one leg. A metal prosthesis with limited flexibility makes it so that Terry Fox has to run with style, with courage and with the kind of dedication and commitment that entranced a nation as he went from sea to sea.
That was 30 years ago. Even though Fox lost his battle with cancer before he could make it all the way from the Atlantic to the Pacific, his dream lives on and every year in September, Canadians all across the country remember him and his fight with the annual Terry Fox Runs that take place in hundreds of cities and communities within the country and internationally as well.
St. Albert is no exception. Usually taking place on the second Sunday after Labour Day, this is the time that Fox himself chose to reflect when he had to stop running and when Canadians had to start.
Alan Luck is the local organizer for the event coming up on Sunday, Sept. 19. It always brings out a crowd of participants and supporters - normal people just like Fox himself who are just trying to make change one step at a time. He said that while there might be a perception that time has taken its toll on public interest, the event is just as strong as ever here.
“We had 153 runners last year,” he said, talking about the consistency of the turnout. “It’s been about the same. It’s been roughly 150 to 250 [registrants] for the last few years.”
This means that the dream is as alive as it ever was. It’s something you really have to be present for in order to experience and understand. The special anniversary has brought a renewed focus on getting people out on that one day and the new energy has not gone unnoticed.
“They’re trying to push it hard,” Luck said, mentioning how much publicity the run has been getting. “There was a van that they took around Canada trying to raise awareness and trying to get support for the event this year.”
There have also been many advance feature articles in major national magazines and newspapers plus a documentary called Into the Wind hosted by Steve Nash. It premieres this month at the Toronto International Film Festival. There has been a groundswell of interest and many have once again picked up the gauntlet that Fox threw down when he was forced to stop his own run.
About 153 participants raised $7,500 locally last year. This doesn’t take into account all of the runs that take place at schools in both districts.
It’s an all-inclusive and non-competitive volunteer-led event that has no fundraising minimums like so many other major charity events. Since 1980 the foundation has raised more than $500 million for cancer research and therapy through the Terry Fox Research Institute.
