Although it has been 30 years since Terry Fox lost his battle with cancer, his spirit and determination cannot be quelled.
The memory of the Burnaby youth who inspired millions around the world will be front and centre again during the annual Terry Fox Run in which 600 to 800 Prince George residents come out to remember and strive towards his dream of a cancer-free world.
The Prince George run, which usually earns about $13,000 for cancer research, is on Sept. 19 beginning and ending at Terry's statue in Community Foundation Park near the city fountain.
Funds are raised during the five-kilometer loop run by pledges or by donation by people who can walk, run, bike, wheel, roller skate, unicycle or pogo stick the distance they choose.
The run goes from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with no fees required during registration which begins at 9 a.m.
Terry's legacy in Prince George began when he ran the Boston to Prince George marathon on Labour Day, 1979. He used that race to test his endurance for his bigger plan of a Marathon of Hope run across the nation.
On April 12, 1980, Terry dipped his artificial leg into the Atlantic Ocean and headed for home. He ran 3,339 miles, doing about 26 miles per day, until he was forced to stop at Thunder Bay, Ont.
The cancer had spread to his lungs and Terry was flown home to Coquitlam, where he lost the battle June 28, 1981 at age 22.
But his Marathon of Hope raised $24.1 million -- a dollar for every Canadian at the time.
Today, with more than $500 million raised, the Terry Fox Foundation puts 87 cents of every dollar raised directly into cancer research.
