Terry's Marathon Of Hope continues
By Mark
Schadenberg
Every
Canadian can create a list of five national heroes, and I'm sure
every list would include Terry Fox.
The
year was 1980 when Terry Fox began his trek to cross the country with
his artificial right leg in a hopeful effort to run from the Atlantic
to the Pacific. The journey – The Marathon Of Hope – sadly ended
outside of Thunder Bay as Terry Fox had a new cancer diagnosis
confirmed.
Annually,
Canadians and many other centres around the world remember Terry by
raising dollars for the Terry Fox Foundation on Sunday, Sept 20 with
the Terry Fox Run. The 2015 event will mark the 35th year.
The
Woodstock fundraiser begins in the parking lot of BDO on Graham
Street with registration beginning at 9 a.m. After a brief opening
ceremony, participants of every age can run, walk, roller blade, ride
a bicycle or ride in a stroller as Canadians honour Terry Fox and
raise important cancer research dollars for the countless on-going
studies working to discover a cure.
The
unique part of the Woodstock event is that if you are unable to begin
your run / walk at 10 a.m. (for example), you can begin at any time
up until 2 p.m.
TERRY FOX
Fox
had his right leg amputated in 1977 due to osteogenic
sarcoma (bone cancer). Growing up in Port Coquitlam,
B.C., he was just an average young Canadian.
You
know the story.
The
Marathon Of Hope began on April 12, 1980 in St. John's Newfoundland
and was discontinued on
September 1, after 143 days and 5,373 km (3,339 miles) with cancer
found his lungs.
Fox
ran through Woodstock on July 16, 1980.
"It
was 40 C -- his stump was bleeding," Woodstock organizer Bill Gillespie (pictured below) recalls and is
quoted in a previous Woodstock Sentinel-Review story. "(Terry)
still took the time to wave to everybody.”
Ron Calhoun of Thamesford was among the national organizers and promoters of the original Marathon of Hope.
At
the age of 22, Terry Fox would die on June 28, 1981.
In
Woodstock, it's a strong committee led by Bill Gillespie which
organizes the Terry Fox Run. The Lions Club of Woodstock is only a
small part of the work force to keep the local Marathon Of Hope
successful as many community volunteers keep the logistics of the
event moving forward. One of the many reasons Bill Gillespie is on
the Woodstock sports wall of fame as an athlete, coach and builder of
sport is that he has been part of the Terry Fox Run initiative
locally since it began, both at the municipal level and coordinating
fundraisers within the school system.
If
you are unable to participate this Sunday in the Terry Fox Run, you
can donate online or mail: The
Terry Fox Foundation, Suite 900, 1200 Eglinton Avenue East, Toronto,
Ontario, M3C1H9.
Terry
Fox quotes for www.terryfox.org:
() () () () () () () () () () ()
“I
don’t feel that this is unfair. That’s the thing about cancer.
I’m not the only one, it happens all the time to people. I’m not
special. This just intensifies what I did. It gives it more meaning.
It’ll inspire more people. I just wish people would realize that
anything’s possible if you try; dreams are made possible if you
try.
“Some
people can’t figure out what I’m doing. It’s not a walk-hop,
it’s not a trot, it’s running, or as close as I can get to
running, and it’s harder than doing it on two legs. It makes me mad
when people call this a walk. If I was walking it wouldn’t be
anything.”
“I'm
not a dreamer, and I'm not saying this will initiate any kind of
definitive answer or cure to cancer, but I believe in miracles. I
have to.”
“
Even
if I don’t finish, we need others to continue. It’s got to keep
going without me.”
() () () () () () () () () () ()
If
you want to join the Marathon Of Hope, the Woodstock committee is
seeking more volunteers and you may contact Bill Gillespie at 519
537-7792 or email myself at mschadenberg@rogers.com.
To
date, over $650 million has been raised around the globe for the
Terry Fox Foundation.
Gillespie
has been quoted several times over the years, talking about why he
believes so strongly in this cancer charity:
“(Terry)
had
the vision to see the wisdom to do something about the funding of
cancer research and the courage to go out and do it.” said
Gillespie. “Cancer research has to be continuous and ongoing and
heavily funded.
“See
you at the starting line, it’s not a race that day but it certainly
a race to find a cure,” Gillespie adds.
TERRY
FOX FOUNDATION
The foundation has funded more than 1,200 different projects, which are attempting to find a cure for various types of cancer. The www.terryfox.org site is wonderful source to research how important The Terry Fox Run is.
The foundation has funded more than 1,200 different projects, which are attempting to find a cure for various types of cancer. The www.terryfox.org site is wonderful source to research how important The Terry Fox Run is.
From
www.TerryFox.org:
The
Terry Fox Foundation is one of the largest non-governmental funders
of cancer research in the country,funding
many different types of cancers; current multi-year studies include
lung, ovarian, colorectal, pancreatic, oral, liver, oncolytic
viruses and many more.
1,212
- the
number of cancer research projects funded to date by The Foundation.
In
2014/15, TFF will invest an estimated $26.5 million in three key
areas of cancer research.
- Discovery research - fundamental science, cure-oriented biomedical: $15.2 million
- Translational research - moving discoveries from the laboratory to the clinic more quickly to impact patients; “lab bench to bedside” approach: $10.2 million
- Training future leaders in cancer research: $1.1 million
The
Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI) functions as the research arm of
the Foundation.
- The TFRI funds cancer research projects across the cancer spectrum based on excellence and impact
- Projects must have measurable outcomes, are internally reviewed, milestone driven
- Projects must predict significant impact on cancer health of Canadians
- Projects are actively managed, with those deemed unproductive terminated
LINKS:
http://www.terryfox.org/TerryFox/Terry_Fox.html
2015 Sentinel preview story:
http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/2015/09/14/the-marathon-of-hope-returns-to-woodstock-for-35th-anniversary-in-honour-of-terry-fox-and-childhood-cancer-research
2014 Sentinel story:
2015 Sentinel preview story:
http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/2015/09/14/the-marathon-of-hope-returns-to-woodstock-for-35th-anniversary-in-honour-of-terry-fox-and-childhood-cancer-research
2014 Sentinel story:
My 2014 blog entry:
2010 Sentinel story:
Mark
Schadenberg, Sales
Representative
Senior
Real Estate Specialist (SRES designation)
Royal
LePage Triland
Realty
Brokerage
757
Dundas St, Woodstock
(519)
537-1553, cell or text
Email:
mschadenberg@rogers.com
Twitter:
markroyallepage
Facebook:
Mark Schadenberg, Royal LePage Triland
Discussion
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