Technolandy

Day 9 (of 2024/25) Terry Fox continues to inspire and motivate

I can still recall the memories of the news tracking the Marathi of Hope. The university student who lost a leg to cancer and decided to raise awareness by running across Canada. Before social media. Before cell phones. And without corporate sponsorship -except for shoes from adidas – yep that’s the brand I wore for awhile; ford for the support vehicle (family had a ford then, have a ford phev now…); and imperial oil – less influential about which gas station has won my patronage over the decades. But many other companies and corporations wanted a piece of Terry – but he wanted the attention to go towards fighting cancer. 

It’s amazing how rich the sustainability of the Terry Fox Run has been… I thought it might be the one big loop around the old and new bridge in Lillooet as a tribute to Terry… and then there was the second one… and then the schools started doing it… and doing it well… and then it spread so that now it has influenced 60 countries. He started on the east coast – St John’s Newfoundland; and made it to Thunder Bay – 5373kms after 143 days (37 kms a day – essentially a marathon a day – he took off  couple days because the Cancer Society told him to, but otherwise he didn’t even stop for his birthday) before cancer won… but his inspiration continued. 

Continues…. I should say… every year, new Terry Fox experts arise and learn about him at this time of year. Much like Remembrance Day, I have a lot of slides to make the assembly different enough each year… and always chances to connect with others who have done amazing marathons to raise attention and money for specific issues. It seems odd now, but Terry was an originator… one of the ‘crazy ones’ who tremendously influenced me. 

Get your steps in this weekend! And make a contribution to the Terry Fox Foundation!