There's something special when a sibling of Terry Fox speaks.
They share a common thread about an "average, ordinary kid" from Port Coquitlam who, in April 1980, dipped his artificial leg in the Atlantic Ocean and created a ripple effect around the world.
But, of course, the versions of their brother's story differ slightly, which makes the same narrative so interesting to hear each time.
For Judith Fox-Alder - the youngest of the four Fox children - being able to share memories of the boy she grew up with, seven years her senior, is "a blessing."
"I just happened to be born into this family," she told the 1,400 students at Riverside secondary in PoCo last Friday at the start of their school's annual Terry Fox Run.
And Fred, Darrell and her feel as though they are "messengers" for the late Canadian hero and the $600-million foundation that bears his name, she said.
Fox-Alder, a mother of four herself and a Port Coquitlam resident, talked about Terry's passion and his love for a challenge. That's the way they were raised, she said, to be highly competitive.
Terry's wake-up call came in the form of a poor report card from Glen elementary in Coquitlam, where he was a "C" student.
He did his homework and aimed to succeed at everything, she said. At Mary Hill Jr. high school, Terry was undeterred when the basketball coach told him not to bother to try out. He was too small. But Terry believed in himself.
"If Terry were here, he would tell you not to limit yourself to something that somebody else tells you what you can and can't do," Fox-Alder said.
By the end of his graduating year, Fox and his best friend, Doug Alward, were named the Ravens' athletes of the year.
Alder-Fox said when Terry got into SFU, majoring in kinesiology, he was at the dining room table all the time pouring over his books. He told his sister to do the same.
His Marathon of Hope dream came after Terry completed a race in Prince George. He told his parents he wasn't happy with the funding for cancer research in Canada and he wanted to make a difference by running across Canada to help the national cancer society to beat the disease that had claimed his leg at the age of 18.
Fox-Alder was "amazed" at his positive spirit.
She recalled when the Toronto Star flew her and her family to Whitby, Ont., for a surprise visit.
"It was like Christmas morning," she said of the excitement as Terry came down the Trans Canada Highway in the early-morning hours. But when he failed to notice them at the roadside, his mother yelled out, "Terrance Stanley Fox!"
Fox-Alder said her family was happy to be reunited and they urged him to keep going, despite the long trek. "I don't think we ever gave up hope that he would make it," she said.
Back in B.C. a short time later, after the cancer had spread to his lungs, Terry had said he didn't want any one person to finish the Marathon of Hope for him. And he was pleased Canadians would be continuing his wish to find a cure to cancer, Fox-Alder said.
Today, as international director of the Terry Fox Foundation, Fox-Alder oversees Terry Fox Runs in 30 countries; all the proceeds raised stay in the host nation to fight cancer. Progress is being made every day, she said, so much so that had Terry been diagnosed with osteosarcoma in 2014, he would have a 95% survival rate.
Kirsten Fox, Terry's niece and the schools co-ordinator for the foundation's BC and Yukon branch in PoCo, said the 1,400 registered schools make up 60% of the fundraising efforts annually; last year, more than $1.3 million came from provincial and Yukon schools.
Still, "this year is different," Kristen Fox said in reference to the teachers' strike, and the outcome is unknown.
Most B.C. schools, like Riverside secondary, didn't hold their run on Sept. 24 - the designated national Terry Fox school run day - but waited a few weeks for students and staff to get settled. A few have indicated they will host their Terry Fox school runs in the spring; however, there are others, like one school in Mission, that had their Fox run on Friday, Sept. 26 and collected $1,000 more than in past years, Kirsten Fox said.
Joni Blaxland, Riverside's leadership teacher, said the PoCo high school has a challenge this year between the 9 to 12 grades to bring in the most amount for the cause (last year, they raised about $1,300).
