In 1980 Terry Fox began the Marathon of Hope. That was 45 years ago and Terry’s brother, Fred Fox, was in Prince Albert to spread his brother’s message at Points West Living on Sunday afternoon.
Fred has been traveling across the country for 15 years speaking to community groups, schools and senior homes.
“(There is) a different type of presentation to schools versus seniors but it’s always about Terry,” Fred said. “It’s always about sharing his story and why we still do a Terry Fox Run today and the money that’s raised and the impact that it’s had on so many people.”
Fred said Terry’s message still resonates today because the it’s simple and straightforward.
“We all still know people who are touched by cancer and that’s why Terry wanted to end the suffering of cancer,” Fred explained. “We’ve come a long way in 45 years, but we lost our dad eight years ago to cancer. So many people have been touched by cancer. It’s still important to talk about what Terry did.”
Fred was introduced by Anne Neely, who was part of the first Terry Fox Run in Prince Albert in 1981. Neely acted as one of the organizers and recalled counting and counting at the end of the day until they realized there was 450 people in attendance at Little Red.
Fred is Terry’s older brother by one year. Although he was busy, Fred frequently joined Terry during the Marathon of Hope.
During the presentation in Prince Albert, Fred shared his own pictures from the Toronto stop during the Northern Ontario portion.
“I was 23 years old when he was running so I remember a lot,” Fred said. “I got a couple of opportunities to be with him when he was running in Toronto and then later on, and so I remember so much.
“I remember early on when no one really knew very much about it and then how it grew once you hit Ontario.”
Vern Hodgins, outgoing chair of the Terry Fox Run in Prince Albert along with other people who support the Terry Fox Run were in attendance. Fred said the support from people like Hodgins makes a big difference.
“The reason it has continued is because of people like Vern right across this country who have organised Terry Fox Runs and volunteered themselves, (and) volunteered to do the Terry Fox Runs in schools,” Fred explained. “We’ve got close to 10,000 schools in Canada that do fundraising for the Terry Fox Foundation and Cancer Research. These things don’t happen without people who give up their time.”
Fred said his school talks help expand upon the curriculum and personalize his brother’s message.
“They know about this guy who ran across Canada and all that,” Fred said. “With my presentation, they learned that he had a family, he grew up, he was a kid at one time. Our message is when Terry was their age he was just like them.
“People think just because he was running a marathon every day he must have been superhuman, he must have been a great athlete and he wasn’t,” Fred said. “He would be the first one to tell you that he wasn’t, and that’s usually the message to kids. He had to work hard every day to meet the goals that he set for himself.”
Fred was last in Prince Albert in 2017 and has been in Regina, Swift Current and Moose Jaw during recent tours.
Fred also noted that people in Prince Albert continue to embrace the message of Terry.
“We’re here because so many people in Prince Albert over 45 years have been continuing the run,” Fred said. “It’s a great opportunity to say thank you, but also share Terry’s story (with) people and students who maybe don’t know it.”
This was the first stop on the tour that includes presentations at 14 schools, including two in Humboldt.
The Terry Fox Run in Prince Albert is on Sunday, Sept. 14. michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
