In April 1980, Tracy Cowie was one half of a photo op that has become a lifelong inspiration.
The seven-year-old Tracy (Kimoto at the time) gave Terry Fox a daffodil bouquet just before he left for his Marathon of Hope, and the moment was captured by a photographer for The Enterprise newspaper. The caption notes that "jogger Terry Fox" would soon be setting off on a cross-country run to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society, starting on April 12, 1980 with hopes to reach Port Coquitlam by September of that year.
"My dad was a volunteer for the Canadian Cancer Society and they thought it would be cute to have a little girl give him some daffodils as the kick-off," Cowie recalled. Her dad put her up to the task and explained who Fox was and what he'd be doing.
When it came time for the photo op, Cowie was nervous she knew Fox was about to do something big but didn't understand how big and also sick.
"I had the flu so my mom packed me an extra dress," Cowie said. "She was so scared I would get sick on Terry Fox.
"My parents had always taught me about inclusiveness but when I met Terry I was scared. I'd never seen someone with an artificial leg before, but also he was so tall."
She and her parents were already wowed by the young runner but it wasn't until he started his run on the Atlantic coast that they began to understand the magnitude of it. They followed Fox's progress on the news and were devastated when they learned he had to cut the Marathon of Hope short on Sept. 1, 1980.
And Cowie remembers hearing the heartbreaking news that Fox had died on June 28, 1981.
But the newspaper photo stayed with her, an ever-present reminder of her hero particularly when she ran her first marathon and understood the enormous physical challenge of doing just one, never mind a marathon every day for 143 days.
When she became a biology teacher at Dr. Charles Best secondary, like her father before her, Cowie started bringing the clipping to the classroom to share the inspirational story with her students.
"He did it with such humility, with no corporate sponsorship, for the greater good," Cowie said. "He did something beyond himself.
"As I get older, I'm more and more amazed at what he did, how selfless it was and how it benefitted so many people," she said. "Nowadays there are not too many people who model that kind of altruism. He really did think beyond himself."
@spayneTC
