What started as a cross-country run in 1980 and went on to become a worldwide legacy for cancer research started as a 10-mile route in Terry Fox's Tri-City back yard and, once again, you too can run in his footsteps in the second annual Terry Fox Training Run on April 3.
The inaugural event last year drew 275 runners — despite a considerable downpour — and 175 walkers for the 2-km community walk, and raised just over $11,300. This year organizers are hoping to spread the word even further and draw more participants to follow the same route Terry Fox used to train for his Marathon of Hope.
"The event honours the many miles Terry ran in preparation for his Marathon of Hope," said Kirsten Fox, the Terry Fox Foundation's BC/Yukon School Run and Training Run co-ordinator, at Tuesday's Port Moody council meeting. "All 3,059 and a half miles of it."
This year's event includes only a few minor changes, including a switch from a Saturday to a Sunday and start times that will be an hour later. The route, which was marked with Terry Fox Training Run signs last year, is much the same but, as with the community walk, runners will now also go past Terry's childhood home before heading west through Coquitlam to the turnaround point on Ioco Road at April Road in Port Moody.
And while the prospect of a 10-mile or 16-km run may seem daunting, Fox says there's always Terry's story to fall back on for inspiration.
After Terry lost his leg to cancer he had to learn how to walk all over again with a bulky prosthetic leg and then, step by step, he taught himself how to run in preparation for the Marathon of Hope.
He meticulously logged each run, down to the last half-mile, eventually working up to completing the 10-mile route twice and sometimes three times in one day.
"Today we're always looking to do things faster, quicker, immediately," Fox said, noting that like all Terry Fox runs the Training Run is not a timed event and is open to all. "Just finishing it is going to be an accomplishment, and that's all Terry wanted as well. In his journal he didn't say how long it took him, he wrote about how he felt, what the weather was like, how far he went, so that he knew he was making progress and had accomplished something."
• The Terry Fox Training Run is on Sunday, April 3, with the 10-mile run starting at 8:30 a.m. and the community walk at 11 a.m. To register online, purchase a shirt or donate, visit www.terryfox.org/trainingrun; all are available on the day of the event as well beginning at 7:30 a.m.
