Marathon of Hope

In this blog, I often urge readers to strive to make a difference, and I often comment on how one person can cause change.  I really believe this, but sometimes I need a little reminder.  One a recent trip to Vancouver, I was given such a reminder and I was once again amazed at the difference one person can make.  This realization came in the form of the Terry Fox Memorial Plaza at BC Place.  We always hear about, and many of us take part in, annual Terry Fox runs which are held all over the world.  And while we all know the story about Terry’s determination to raise money for cancer research and his attempt to cross Canada on foot in an effort to do so, we tend to forget how it all started.  I think we often forget that the millions of dollars raised and the awareness of cancer and cancer research which seem so common place now was not true when Terry began his Marathon of Hope. 

The memorial to Terry Fox was created by visual artist and author, Douglas Coupland.  Coupland wrote a book about Terry and then was commissioned to create the artistic tribute.  The memorial consists of a series of four bronze statues of Terry, each one bigger than the other to create the illusion of Terry running.  The poignant inscription explains that the statues face Stanley Park, which was where Terry intended to end his marathon by dipping his foot in the Pacific Ocean, having begun by dipping his foot in the Atlantic Ocean. 

But it was the long inscription on a plague by the artist which reminded me  how one person can make a difference in the world – in this case, a very young man who decided to take on the mission of creating cancer awareness and raising money for cancer research.  According to Coupland, when Terry was diagnosed with cancer it was mostly a “taboo” topic, people simply did not talk about it.  Also at that time, very little money was being raised for research, especially in Canada.  Terry decided he would attempt to change that by walking across Canada, even though one of his legs had been amputated.  But even more incredibly, he decided he would run the equivalent of one marathon a day.  As we all know, in September, 1980 after running 143 days and 5,373 kilometers, Fox was forced to stop his Marathon of Hope because his cancer had returned.  In June, 1981 Terry Fox passed away, but his dream did not die.  It lives on in the millions of people who have taken part in Terry Fox runs all over the world in the thirty-two years since he died and in the millions of dollars raised for cancer research.  All of this, because one person decided to make a difference. 

What struck me the most was a line in Coupland’s plague which ponders that had Terry Fox not attempted the Marathon of Hope, had he taken better care of himself and not devoted so much to the run, his cancer might not have returned.  He might have gone on to live a long life and have a successful career, and he might have married and had children.  Not only did this one person change the way the world sees cancer and cancer research, he made the ultimate sacrifice in doing so. 

Terry Fox inspired fellow British Columbian’s Steven Fonyo and Rick Hansen to create their own marathons, as well as millions of people who run in his memory every year.  Remembering that one person can make a difference and change the world.. . . it’s a good thing!