Like many, I feel deep admiration for Terry Fox and consider him a national treasure. Through the years, people have shared that he was an unmatched inspiration to them, including a phys ed teacher who was a teenager at the time. Describing himself as forlorn, inactive and overweight, he watched The Marathon of Hope unfold and ‘got up off the couch, started running and never stopped.’ He built an entire career around helping others know the benefits of staying fit and engaged, and he always ensures they know who his lifelong mentor was.
Terry Fox changed lives. Thing is, I was completely unaware of The Marathon of Hope for the entire time it was taking place. I’m not proud of this, but I do have an excuse along with what I consider a strange juxtaposition of timelines (which I know because of a precise journal I kept that year):
March 9, 1977 (two days after my own 16th birthday, at which I promised my friend I would spend a year backpacking through Europe and the Middle East with her when we graduated from high school). Terry Fox’s right leg is amputated.
February 1, 1979 (first day of my last semester of high school – I’ve been working part time for two years to save for my trip). Terry Fox begins training and appeals to a major sporting goods corporation to consider funding his running shoes.
September 1, 1979 (first day of my first full time job – all my focus is on my trip). Terry tells his parents about his plan to run across Canada.
April 12, 1980 (we are getting our travel documents ready). Terry dipped his artificial leg into the Atlantic Ocean. “Today is the day it all begins,” he said.
July 5, 1980 (I am breaking in my new hiking boots and practicing walking distances with my backpack). Terry collapsed in the van from exhaustion, his eyes closed as if blocking out the light and pain with a wrinkled $100 bill, damp from perspiration, clasped tightly in his hands. (from the Terry Fox Foundation website)
September 1, 1980 (Last day of work, lots of prep still to do, my attention is entirely on my journey). After 143 days and 4,373 km, Terry Fox is forced to stop after cancer had appeared on his lungs.
September 19, 1980 (We fly to Rome). Terry Fox is made a Companion of the Order of Canada.
December 23, 1980 (We had traveled the rails through much of SW Europe and had settled as volunteers on a kibbutz in Israel for the winter. Excited to spend Christmas Eve in Bethlehem tomorrow). Terry is named the Canadian Press Newsmaker of the Year.
February 1, 1981 (It was a Sunday, so the kibbutz bakery where I usually worked was closed. We rested for much of the day.) The Marathon of Hope has now raised a total of over $24 million and Terry has achieved his goal of raising $1 for every person in Canada.
June 28, 1981 (We land back in Calgary after 10 months away). Terry Fox dies.
June 29, 1981 (I’m jetlagged at the family barbecue my parents host to welcome me back. People seemed sad as I looked around the living room. ‘I just can’t stop crying since Terry Fox died,’ my aunt explained. ‘Who is Terry Fox?’ I asked. Twenty people seemed to gasp all the air from the room and began to slowly stand up in a daze, united in sorrow. ‘You’re an idiot,’ my brother declared).
Yup. I had missed the entire monumental foundation of this Canadian lore, but I feel I’ve come to understand.
Sandy Bexon is stepping into retirement after over 35 years as a communications professional, reporter and writer. She lives in Red Deer.