Terry Fox has been described by his mother as "a very ordinary young man." But the "ordinary young man" became a national hero when he ran across the country to raise money for cancer research.  To millions of Canadians he represented everything that is good, inspiring, generous, selfless and decent. June 28, 2006, marked the 25th anniversary of the death of Terry Fox.  Fox died nine months after his cancer forced him to abandon his cross-country run "The Marathon of Hope."  In 10 years, the annual Terry Fox Run raised more than $250 million for cancer research worldwide.  By 2004, according to the Terry Fox run website, that had surpassed $360 million.

Ordinary beginnings
Terry was born in 1958 in Winnipeg, Man.  A few years later his family moved to Port Coquitlam, B.C.

As a kid, Terry was always enthusiastic about sports, even when he was the worst player on his Grade 8 basketball team.  A teacher encouraged him to go out for cross-country running, a sport in which he had little interest.  But Fox was determined to be better and to please his coach.

In his final year at Port Coquitlam secondary school he shared the Athlete of the Year award with his friend Doug Alward.  After that, he went on to study physical education at Simon Fraser University.

Then, in 1977, when a pain in Terry's knee got so bad he could barely stand, he went to the hospital where he was diagnosed as having osteogenic sarcoma, a form of bone cancer.  His right leg was amputated six inches above his knee.

He hated the time he spent in hospital and pushed himself to learn to walk again.  His determination had him out playing golf only six weeks after the operation.  Later, basketball returned to his life when he was invited to play wheelchair basketball with Rick Hansen.

But Terry never forgot his experience in the hospital.  He was angry at how little money was spent on cancer research in Canada.  He turned his anger into a mission – he would run across the country to raise both awareness and money in his fight against cancer.

Marathon of Hope: Fox's journey across Canada
When he began training, he kept his dream a secret.  He told his family he was training for the Vancouver Marathon.  The beginning was tough.  He spent most of his time falling down and picking himself off the floor.  He kept going, though, and after more than a year, and over 4,800 kilometres of running, he announced his plans to his family.  He said his goal was to collect $1 for every person living in the country – at the time Canada had a population of about 24 million.

Support for his cause gradually built.  Before his run, he collected donations including the camper van his friend Doug drove during the run.  It was given to him by the Ford Motor Co.

Finally, on April 12, 1980, Terry Fox dipped his artificial foot in the Atlantic Ocean off St. John's, Nfld., and began his Marathon of Hope.

Terry ran about 42 kilometres each day no matter the weather – freezing rain, high winds, even snow. Skeptics thought he'd never make it past New Brunswick but he proved them wrong and Terry Fox became a household name.

He ran through Dartmouth, Charlottetown, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and a long list of places in between. When he wasn't on the move, he gave speeches that were often emotional, touching the hearts of many Canadians.

When August came along, Terry passed through Sudbury, the halfway mark on his journey west.

But on Sept. 1, chest pains and breathing problems forced him to stop running at a spot along the Trans-Canada Highway northeast of Thunder Bay.  After 143 days and 5,373 kilometres, he announced he would have to postpone the rest of the run, saying "I'm gonna do my very best. I'll fight, I promise I won't give up."

Terry was sent to a hospital in B.C. where doctors discovered the source of his chest pains: cancer had spread to his lungs.  The Marathon of Hope would have to go on without him.  In the months that followed, donations kept coming.  A total of $24.17 million was raised, surpassing Terry's initial goal.

When Terry was in hospital, he received a letter from one of the many people he had inspired along the way.  Isadore Sharp, president of the Four Seasons Hotel, wrote Terry saying his dream would continue with an annual fundraising marathon, to be called the Terry Fox Run.

Terry himself laid out many of the guidelines for the Run that are still followed today – probably the most important of which is to keep the event non-competitive – no winners, no awards, just the goal of raising money for cancer research.

Terry Fox died on June 28, 1981, but not before becoming the youngest person ever to be awarded the Order of Canada.

More than 25 years of Hope
And, in 2005, a quarter-century after Terry Fox dipped his artificial leg in the Atlantic Ocean, the Canadian icon was still leaving his mark.

On March 14, 2005, Terry Fox became the first Canadian whose image has appeared on a general-circulation Canadian coin.  He is pictured on the reverse of the Terry Fox commemorative $1 coin, wearing his Marathon of Hope T-shirt.  The detail on his face shows his determination and anguish as he ran the equivalent of a full marathon daily.  The Queen occupies her usual place on the other side of the coin.  By September 2005, an estimated 20 million of the coins had been produced.

Adidas Canada also came out with a limited-edition Terry Fox shoe, which sold a whopping 6,500 pairs in seven days, raising close to $500,000 for cancer research.

Terry Fox also graced the small screen in a made-for-TV movie, Terry, in September 2005. About 1.6 million viewers tuned in to see the biopic.

More importantly, Canadians and people across the globe are still following in Fox's footsteps.  On Sept. 18, 2005, more than 200,000 Canadians took part in almost 1,000 Terry Fox Run events.  And, more than 4,000 Terry Fox Runs were held in countries outside of Canada.  In total, $36 million was raised worldwide.

To commemorate the quarter-century milestone, the Government of Canada gave the Terry Fox Foundation a $10-million grant.

With the money raised, the foundation is funding $20 million in NCIC research across Canada in 2006/2007, including studies on how viruses can be used to kill cancer, and new ways of detecting the disease.