Terrance "Terry" Stanley Fox was born on July 28, 1958 in Winnipeg, Manitoba and moved to British Columbia in 1966. Terry was active in sports during his school years and excelled in basketball and cross-country running. In 1977 at the age of 18, Terry was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of cancer that often starts near the knees. Terry had his right leg amputated but with the help of an artificial leg was walking three weeks after the surgery. Terry recovered quickly and by the summer of 1977 was invited by Rick Hansen to play wheelchair basketball in the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association and eventually won three national titles with his team.
Terry began his Marathon of Hope on April 12, 1980 to raise money for cancer research. The journey started near St. John's, Newfoundland with the intent of running the equivalent of one full marathon (42 kilometers) a day until he reached Victoria, British Columbia. The Marathon started off with little fanfare but Terry’s journey soon grabbed the public’s attention and soon events were scheduled to greet Terry along the way. Terry quite frequently provided speeches, media interviews, and attended sporting events – anything he could do to raise awareness of cancer research. On September 1, 1980 near Thunder Bay, Ontario, Terry fell ill and was admitted to hospital. The following day, after running for 143 days and 5,373 kilometers, Terry announced that his cancer had returned and had spread to his lungs. Terry underwent months of chemotherapy and other treatments before eventually passing away on June 28, 1981 at the age of 22.
Terry had raised $1.7 million during the Marathon of Hope and another $10 million was raised in the weeks after the run ended. The first annual Terry Fox Run was held on September 13, 1981 and has been organized in over 60 countries, and attracts more than three million people annually. The Terry Fox Run is the world's largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research, and has raised over $850 million dollars.
To qualify for this Virtual Geocache:
1) Email or message the cache owner the answer to this question: When facing Terry, what is the quote on the right hand side of the statue base?
2) With your "found it" log, post a photo of yourself or a personal item (such as a GPS) at the Terry Fox statue. Please do not post photos that show the answers to questions #1 or #3!
3) Approximately 15 meters away is the Mile 0 sign which is the start of the Trans Canada Highway and where Terry would have finished the Marathon of Hope. In your email/message, also include the answer to this question: What is written on the metal plaque on the north side of the sign (the side closest to Terry)? (HINT: It starts with the letter "A")
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.