Concordia University’s Le Gym, in collaboration with the Terry Fox Foundation, the Concordia Student Union and the Concordia Outdoors club, is hosting its first Terry’s Cause on Campus event from December 1-8 to benefit the Terry Fox Foundation and cancer research.
The objective is to mobilize the Concordia community to run or walk a cumulative distance equivalent to the distance across Canada to commemorate Terry Fox’s 1980 Marathon of Hope. While Terry ran over 5,000 kilometers in his bid to cross Canada from St John’s, Newfoundland, to Victoria, British Columbia, he was forced to stop at Thunder Bay due to the cancer spreading to his lungs. Le Gym hopes to collectively reach over 8,000 kilometers and raise over $5,000 to outrun cancer.
Terry Fox was a Canadian icon, athlete, and humanitarian who has inspired people worldwide with his commitment to raise money for cancer research. After being diagnosed with bone cancer in 1977, and ultimately having his right leg amputated below the knee, the young man embarked on his Marathon of Hope campaign using a prosthetic leg in order to raise awareness and critical funds for finding a cure to cancer. The cross-country tour, which began on April 12, 1980, started in St John’s, Newfoundland, where Terry ceremoniously dipped his artificial leg into the Atlantic Ocean, with the objective of running across Canada in his bid to fundraise for cancer research. His East-West trajectory, difficult in its own right and made exponentially more difficult with a prosthetic leg, led him to also contend with fierce winds against him, inspiring the documentary, “Into the Wind.”
Terry was compelled to end the Marathon of Hope at Thunder Bay, Ontario, on September 1, 1980 as a result of the cancer spreading to his lungs. By then, he had ran over 5,373 kilometres in 143 days. He persevered despite extreme pain, weather challenges, and hostile drivers, and was cheered on by each community he passed during his Marathon. While Terry Fox ultimately succumbed to the cancer in 1981 at the age of 22, his commitment and fierce determination to persevere despite personal pain has inspired millions worldwide. The annual Terry Fox Run, which takes place in September every year, has expanded from its largely Canadian base to worldwide, with over 51 international runs taking place annually. As Terry said, “Even if I don’t finish, we need others to continue. It’s got to keep going without me.”
Students and community members are encouraged to sign up and run a cumulative distance of 8,000 kilometers equivalent to the distance across Canada, and raise over $5,000. There is no limit to how many kilometers an individual can walk, and students, teachers and alumni are encouraged to participate. In accordance with Terry’s wishes, there is no minimum donation required. To download a pledge sheet, please visit http://www.terryfox.org/
The event begins at 7 am on December 1, with the hours being 7 am to 10 pm from December 2 to 6 and 9 am to 7 pm on December 7 and 8. The event will wrap up with a commemorative ceremony in which the amount of kilometers reached and the fundraising total will be announced. Montreal’s Terry Fox Run veteran, Eddy Nolan, master caretaker at Roslyn School in Westmount, will be joining the 5 à 7. Throughout the week, a map of Canada will be updated daily with the amount of kilometers reached and funds raised.
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