Terry Fox was 18 when doctors found cancer in his right leg in 1977. The leg was amputated. In the hospital, he saw other patients, many of them kids, fighting the same disease. He decided he would do something about it.
The Marathon of Hope
On April 12, 1980, Terry dipped his artificial leg into the Atlantic Ocean at St. John’s, Newfoundland. His plan was to run across Canada, nearly a marathon every day, to raise money for cancer research.
He ran 143 days and 5,373 kilometers. Crowds began to show up along the road. People gave money and told him their own stories.
Where he stopped
On September 1, 1980, outside Thunder Bay, Ontario, Terry had to stop. The cancer had come back in his lungs. He died on June 28, 1981, at age 22.
By then Canadians had raised more than 23 million dollars in his name. Today the Terry Fox Run goes on around the world, and the money raised for cancer research is past one billion dollars.
What stays with me
Terry did not finish his route. He still won. He proved that a young man with a single goal and a lot of heart can move an entire nation.
You do not have to finish everything to matter. Start something good, and let it run farther than you can.
Source: read more about the facts here.
Keep reading
- More motivation
- Faith and hope
- Good news stories Before the run
Terry Fox was born on July 28, 1958, in Winnipeg. When he was ten his family moved to Port Coquitlam, British Columbia. He played basketball, ran distance, and was named his high school’s athlete of the year. In 1977 he was diagnosed with cancer, and his right leg was amputated above the knee. Time in the hospital left him upset at how little money went to cancer research in Canada. He learned to run with an artificial leg and was running marathon distances by 1979. He also played wheelchair basketball and won three national titles.
The Terry Fox Run
In September 1980 Terry became a Companion of the Order of Canada, its youngest member at the time. He died on June 28, 1981, at age 22. The first Terry Fox Run was held on September 13, 1981. Isadore Sharp of Four Seasons Hotels had suggested an annual run, and the Fox family agreed on conditions. It would be non competitive, with no winners and no prizes, and no corporate sponsorship. By 2010, the runs had raised 553 million dollars over thirty years.
>What this story says to me
Courage does not always look loud. Sometimes it looks like one more step on a hard day, repeated until the road is done.
I admire anyone who turns pain into purpose for others. It reminds me that our hardest days can still be used to help people.
Where it meets your life
What do you have that someone else might need? A story, a skill, a listening ear. You do not need a big platform.
Start by helping one person near you.
One thing to do today
Pick a small goal and push a little further than yesterday. Then tell someone about it.
Steady effort and a purpose bigger than yourself go a long way.
Purpose gives pain a job
When people turn their hardest moments into something that helps others, it changes how they carry the hurt. It does not erase the pain. It gives it meaning.
You may not have a large mission. You may have a small one, like being kind to someone who is where you were once.
One step further
Think of a goal that feels bigger than your strength. Instead of the whole thing, plan one more step than yesterday. A little further each day is how long roads get walked.
Write the goal down and tell someone who will cheer you on.
Giving back
Look at what you can do with what you have. Offer time, a kind word or a small gift to a cause you care about. Hope spreads when ordinary people pitch in.
Words from Positive Phil
You become what you give your attention to.
