Terry Fox ran through Oshawa, Whitby and Pickering 44 years ago

It’s been 44 years since one of Canada’s greatest heroes made a pit stop in Oshawa, reunited with his mother in Whitby and spent the night in Pickering.

That hero is Terry Fox, the young British Columbia man who ran halfway across the country in 1980 to raise money for cancer research. In the four-and-a-half decades since Fox’s Marathon of Hope, more than $850 million has been raised in his name.

Fox, born in Winnipeg in 1958 and raised largely in Port Coquitlam, was a natural athlete. He competed in basketball and long-distance running in high school, earning his school’s Athlete of the Year award in Grade 12.

After graduation, he studied kinesiology at Simon Fraser University, intending to become a PE teacher. In 1976, he injured his knee in a car crash but chose to ignore the pain until the end of basketball season.

When he finally got his knee checked out in March 1977, doctors discovered an osteosarcoma (bone cancer) tumour. Fox’s leg had to be amputated above the knee.

The doctors gave him a 50 per cent chance of recovery at the time. Had he been diagnosed two years earlier, he would have had only a 15 per cent chance. The rapid change in outlook impressed the importance of research on Fox.

Within three months of his amputation, Fox was walking again with the aid of a prosthetic leg. He endured 16 months of chemotherapy treatment. Fox’s passion for athletics continued when he soon joined a wheelchair basketball team. With Fox on the roster, the team won three national championships.

Fox found his chemotherapy difficult as he watched his fellow patients wither. Angry at the lack of research funding and inspired by runner Dick Traum, who finished the New York Marathon with a prosthetic leg in 1976, Fox began to secretly plan his run.

Fox began training, perfecting his unique gait caused by the springs in his prosthetic. This prosthetic leg also caused his stump great pain, resulting in deep bone bruises and blisters.

After announcing his intention to run across Canada, collecting $1 for each of the country’s 24 million citizens. He spent the fall of 1979 getting sponsors such as the Canadian Cancer Society, Adidas for his shoes and Ford for his camper van. He was adamant no one was to profit from his run and turned down all offers with such conditions.

Fox started his run on April 12, 1980, near St. John’s, Newfoundland, with the intent of running home to British Columbia. Harsh winds, rain, and a snowstorm beset the early run. Initially, Fox was disappointed in the local engagement but was heartened by a $10,000 donation from Channel-Port aux Basques, $1 for each resident.

By the time Fox hit Montreal on June 22, the third-way mark of his journey, he had collected about $200,000. He was disappointed to still be so far from his fundraising goal but caught the eye of Isadore Sharp, the Four Seasons hotelier who had just lost his own son to cancer. Sharp pledged to donate $2 for every mile and convinced 1,000 other corporations to do the same.

As he exited Quebec, Fox finally got the reception he deserved on entering Ontario. He was greeted by a brass band and streets lined with people. He received an OPP escort through the province and reached Ottawa on Canada Day.

There he met Governor General Ed Schreyer and Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, was featured as a guest of honour in numerous sporting events and delivered the opening kick at a CFL game.

“Simply nothing like it before.” – Terry Fox on his Oshawa visit.

He reached Oshawa nearly days later, adjusting to a new prosthetic and exhausted by running through thunderstorms from Peterborough. He had run roughly 3,500 kilometres over the last four months. As he made his way down Highway 2 a.k.a King Street, he was surrounded by supporters.

He gave an address at the Oshawa Centre where he received a plaque and a donation from Mayor James Potticary. “Today was a good day,” Fox journaled about his Oshawa visit, “Ran all the way through Oshawa. People lined the streets all the way. Then I had a great reception at the local mall. Simply nothing like it before.”

After his Oshawa Centre stop, Fox continued toward Whitby and Pickering, where he reunited with his mother, Betty Fox, the following day. He then made his way through Pickering and into Scarborough.

Terry Fox reunites with his mother Betty Fox outside Whitby on July 11, 1980. – by Keith Beatty

He continued through Toronto to a huge reception at Nathan Phillips Square where Fox’s hockey hero Darryl Sittler presented him with a jersey. The cancer society estimates this appearance alone raised $100,000.

Fox went on. He celebrated his 22nd and final birthday on July 28 outside of Gravenhurst, approximately 4,100 kilometres into his journey. As August begins, Fox’s journal grows more negative. He passed the halfway point of his run near Sudbury but hardly noticed due to his growing ill health and problems with the support van.

After an intense coughing fit and continued poor health, Fox went to the hospital on Sept. 1. There, he learned his cancer had returned and spread to his lungs. He was forced to call off the Marathon of Hope after 143 days, 5,373 kilometres and $1.7 million ($6 million in 2023 dollars) in donations.

A year after Fox began his run, his efforts and efforts were taken in his name after the Marathon’s suspension had raised $23 million ($73 million in 2023 dollars). Fox continued to fight his cancer for nearly another year, during which time he received numerous honours. He succumbed on June 28, 1981.

In the years since he ended his marathon, Fox has been hailed as a national hero, and numerous memorials, statues, and honours have been raised across the country. In 2004, the CBC listed him as The Greatest Canadian.

Betty Fox and Sharp later founded the Terry Fox Run and Foundation which has since raised more than $800 million for cancer research. The next run, now held in 20 countries, is set for Sept. 15.