The Terry Fox memorial outside B.C. Place
Photo by Jenelle Schneider/The Province
Terry Fox’s Legacy*
(July 28, 1958 – June 28, 1981)
Adapted from The Province by Nila Gopaul
Level 2
Terry Fox died 34 years ago today,
on June 28, 1981.
Terry is remembered for his bravery and
his run across Canada.
Terry called this run the Marathon of Hope.
This marathon helped raise money
for cancer research.
*Legacy: (say: le-ga-see) – a gift you hand down
when you die (such as money or property)
In 1977, Terry lost his right leg
above the knee to cancer.
He was only 18 years old.
Terry started the Marathon of Hope
when he was 22 years old.
He ran with an artificial leg
over 5,000 km in 143 days.
Terry Fox runs with an artificial leg.
Photo by Colin Price/The Province
Terry died at the Royal Columbian Hospital
in New Westminster, B.C.,
about a year later.
He died a month before
his twenty-third birthday.
By numbers
- The distance – 5,373:
kilometres run by Terry in 1980. - The money raised – 650 million:
dollars donated in Terry’s name
(as of May 2014). - The runners – 5.2 million:
participants in the Terry Fox Runs each year.
Today people in 25 countries particpate. - The honours– 14:
schools names after Terry. - The hope – 1,152:
cancer research projects funded
in Terry’s name.