Brody's Notes... Terry Fox Run Day

By Brody Levesque (Bethesda, Maryland) Sept 13 |  Today, in memory of an incredible young man, all across Canada and the world in small towns, large cities, the rural outposts of provinces everywhere, people will be running, walking, and making a difference in the name of a true hero, Terry Fox.   

(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

The Terry Fox Run is an annual non-competitive charity event held in numerous regions across the globe in commemoration of cancer victim Terry Fox, and his Marathon of Hope, and to raise money for cancer research. The event was founded in 1981 by Isadore Sharp, who contacted Terry in-hospital by telegram and expressed his wishes to hold an annual run in Terry's nmae to raise funds for cancer research. The event is held every year on the second Sunday following Labour Day. Since its inception, it has raised via the 'Terry Fox Foundation' over $340 million dollars (CAD); Upper Canada College, in Toronto, Ontario, is the site of the largest run, and has also raised the most money in the world since 2000. The run itself is informal which means that the distance often varies, usually between 5 and 15 kilometres; participation is considered to be more important than completing the set distance.

Unlike other major fund raising events, the Terry Fox Run has no corporate sponsorship. This is in accordance with Terry Fox's original wishes of not seeking fame or fortune from his endeavour. During his cross-Canada run, he turned down every endorsement he was offered (including from major multinationals such as McDonald's), as he felt that it would detract from his goal of creating public awareness. The Terry Fox Runs have no advertisements on any race related materials (such as t-shirts, banners, etc).

Please watch this video from the ESPN Sports network;