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Inspiration from Terry Fox
Below is an ESPN video that documents the story of Terry Fox. It is both inspiring and incredibly sad. Here is a man who lost his leg to osteosarcoma, yet took it upon himself to run across Canada to raise money for cancer. Terry ran 26 miles a day on an artificial leg. He did this day after day after day. Whether it was hot, cold, raining, or snowing, Terry got out and continued to run.
Unfortunately, it was eventually discovered that Terry’s cancer had returned. This discovery was made while Terry was still running 26 miles a day. Not only was he running on an artificial leg, but also with large tumors in each of his lungs.
The story of Terry Fox really puts our own bumps, bruises, and minor setbacks into perspective. It also demonstrates the power of determination. Terry was determined to raise one dollar for each of Canada’s 24 million people. It could not have been comfortable running 26 miles a day. Logic would suggest that it isn’t even possible to continually cover such distance. Add an artificial leg and cancerous tumors within the lungs and it sounds impossible.
Take ten minutes out of your day to watch the video below. It is one of the most powerful stories I’ve seen (thanks to Rob for passing it along).
In the words of Thomas Fuller,
“An invincible determination can accomplish almost anything and in this lies the great distinction between great men and little men.”
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I was lucky enough to touch his hand as he ran by. I was 10 years old. Canada, rightly, idolized Terry Fox. He raised 10 million for cancer during his run, and 10 more after he died. He inspired Rick Hanson.
The Terry Fox run still happens here, every single year, in every town and city in Canada.
He is an absolute hero in my mind.
After some consideration I thought I would add, at the time, Terry Fox and his Marathon of Hope really was something powerful in my life. At ten years of age, my own dad was dying of cancer. My dad, another hero of mine, was out working every single day, doing hard physical labor, with two lungs, a stomach, and a shoulder full of cancer.
There are some real heros, it is a shame they are invisible to us, as they do not advertise it and we never know.
Wow… what an incredible story. I don’t understand why some really good and special people get dealt a bigger “pile” to deal with than others. Maybe one reason is show those who are just coasting through life what can happen if you get your mind out of the way and pursue an objective with purpose and fortitude. Thanks Ross…
I just attended the Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony last night and it included tributes to Terry Fox and Rick Hansen, both Canadian heroes. I was just a child when Terry Fox attempted to run across Canada but I remember seeing the man with the “fake leg” – I had never seen a prosthetic limb before. Watching the tribute of him reminded me of the strength of the human spirit and made me extra proud to be Canadian. We will always remember Terry Fox. Now, I am an able-bodied trainer and athlete but watching these Paralympians compete is very humbling. Thanks for posting Ross!
WOW!!! what a hero! After the video my girlfriend started to cry and i was also close to tears…
[...] RossTraining.com Blog : Inspiration from Terry Fox [...]
This is just a great story.
And then people stay home from work beacause of a headache?
This story in a inspiration for all of us.
Ross,
Don`t get me wrong or narcistic the inspirational stories are very motivating.I view your blog regularly but I find that we have got enough stories about men and women who are old or without part of their bodies. I`d like to have more Stories about Training itself
and so on.
Naveen
Naveen,
There is actually plenty of training advice that you can learn from men such as Terry Fox. While many are out searching blog after blog after blog for training tidbits, those such as Terry Fox just got up each day and hit the road. There are lessons right there that many still don’t see.
Many of the best athletes I’ve ever seen didn’t know a whole lot about training. I know world champion fighters who couldn’t tell you the difference between periodization and a quadricep.
They were inspired and dedicated however. They put forth a relentless effort with nothing but the basics. That is largely the message behind this blog, and there will continue to be posts that illustrate this point.
I appreciate the note.
Best of luck,
Ross
Thank you for such an inspiring story. What an incredible role model.
I know what you mean beside that I train regular , I just want a variation in the blog thats all.
Straight to the heart. I box and train so I read your blogs pretty often, but Im also an insurance agent and cancer policies is one of my main services that I sell. This just helped me refocus and understand that its bigger than me. Terry knew that.
Naveen, One of the things I got from this is purpose. Why we do the things we do. I hope that makes sense….
Thanks for the humbling post.
If you don’t like the blog’s content go read a different blog.
It’s really not that difficult.
Btw, Terry Fox is still a huge idol here in Canada. As someone else mentioned, Terry Fox runs are done every year across Canada in honour of him.
wow, that story is epic, such an inspiration, there are truly some amazing people in the world, but i think we should also take away that this guy was only human, and we are all human, we can all push that little bit more to help out people who are less fortunate than us.
lifted up my day.
Thomas.
Melb. Australia.
The Terry Fox story is just another reminder of what the human body can do if you let it. This man would not allow his challenges to stand in his way. It’s people like this who should be covered by the news. It’s not good to compare your brand of suffering to another person’s, but I am going to think long and hard before complaining about anything.
Thank you for sharing this piece. It means a lot.
A truly inspiring story about a great young man. I am surprised that I have never heard this story before. I could never get enough of this type of information. Keep up the good work Ross. I really appreciate you efforts and admire you for the good that you do.
hello ross,
.
wonderfull (ad sad) story, and hardly heard of in germany.
I also liked the TED Videos linked from your webiste.
Frankly, training is quite simple: “sweat”
Good work Ross
As a Canadian, I want to thank Ross for exposing Terry Fox to many who have never heard his story. Every Canadian knows who he is and what he did, and continues to do through his legacy. A true hero.
Ive been in the states now ,living here after moving from England.
I had never heard of Terry fox before ,,and am now glad I did.
what an incredible man.sometimes I think I have drive and determination better than the average man ,only to see people like this terry fox show me what determination really is.
Naveen , I dont think there is enough stories like this ,,to show us normal people what incredible people do.
I’m really thankful for this Ross. I’ve never heard of Terry Fox before despite the fact that he died the same year I was born. Last night after watching it I called my 8 year old son and watched it again together, I was translating it to spanish for my kid when he started crying, and so did I seconds later. Great and Powerful story that’s for sure…
I am 30 years old and can remember watching the Terry Fox Story on HBO at the age of five years old. Although I did not understand what was going on I knew what he was doing was important and became almost obssessed with his story. I am an educator and I now show this movie to my students to inspire them. You would not believe how tuned in they are and how the movie has impacted their lives. More people should know what he did and I would like to thank you for putting it out there for others to see and hopefully take something from it.
Proudly shining at a lonely peak of my experienced ‘mind’-mountains..
Thank you so much for sharing this wonder, Rick!
I am very thankful.
Thanks for spreading the word about Terry Fox, Ross.
As has been mentioned, he is still (and will always be) a national hero here in Canada. The annual Terry Fox run is an event that is held simultaneoulsy in towns all across Canada.
My first 10k was doing the Terry Fox Run last year.
He and I are from the same town. My older brother went to school and played sports with him. I went to school with his kid sister.
Stories like this are inspirational, and something to think about whenever we wimp out and don’t want to get off our lazy ases to train or whatever.
Wow. Just wow. What a moving story.
As a Canadian now living in Abu Dhabi UAE, I was so proud to see they had a Terry Fox Run out here in the Middle East. He is truly an inspiration around the world.