Why we run for Terry FOX

BY TAYLOR NG

Terry FOx was born in winnipeg, Canada and grew up in the Canadian City of Port Coquitlam with his parents and 3 siblings…

Terry loved sports but his favourite was basketball. But even though he tried his best he was always picked last. This didn’t stop him though, he kept trying and soon he and his friend Doug were valued players on the team.

Terry’s coach soon encouraged him to do Cross Country running. Terry didn’t think he would enjoy Cross Country running especially since being part of a team felt natural to him but he still tried and soon he was the best distance runner in the school.

Terry then decided to study physical education when he noticed pain in his right knee. His parents took him to the doctor and soon found out it was cancer. Cancer is a disease that happens when some of the millions of cells in your body are sick and the sick ones take up room in your body that belongs to the healthy ones. There was only one way to stop it and he had to cut off his right leg. The night before his surgery Terry was reading a book about this person named Rick Traum who ran the New York Marathon with an artificial leg. The story made Terry feel better and he became eager to learn how to use his artificial leg and soon he was back walking. A few months after he and his friend Doug completed a 17 mile race.

After this Terry decided to run across Canada raising 1 dollar from each Canadian. One spring morning in 1980 he began the Marathon of Hope. Terry ran more than 3,000 miles before he became ill and had to go back to the hospital. He had to stop running and when the first Terry Fox Run was held Terry was not there. He had passed away in 1981 and in memory of him every September we run, maybe not as far, but for cancer just like Terry Fox did.