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Sunday, September 20 marks the 40th Anniversary of the annual Terry Fox Run, a tradition that all Canadians have come to know and love.

The milestone will be celebrated virtually this year due to COVID-19, but that isn’t stopping people from honouring the legacy of Terry Fox.

Older brother of Terry, Fred Fox says even after all these years his family continues to be amazed by the millions of Canadians who support the cause.

“It means so much to me, our family and the Terry Fox Foundation. So many people across Canada, from coast to coast who have supported the Terry Fox run for the last 40 years. New generations, our volunteers, people who participate every year, donors, the people that fund raise for cancer research. If not for all of these people, Terry’s legacy wouldn’t have continued the way it has. Terry has inspired so many people to continue what he started in 1980.”

Fred says some of his best memories of his younger brother Terry was witnessing first hand his determination during the marathon.

“I had a couple of chances to be with Terry in Toronto and then later on in Northern Ontario near Wawa. My wife and I spent four days with him. So those are fond memories, any time spent with Terry, but especially in Northern Ontario. Running with Terry and watching him make his way through the many hills he climbed,” Fox says.

Fred has worked at the Terry Fox Foundation for 12 years speaking at schools in Canada, in hopes of keeping Terry’s message alive.

“You see the passion, commitment and dedication that Canadians have to continue what Terry started,” Fred says. “Those are great memories, meeting new people and seeing great parts of Canada every year.”

Fred explains that Terry had a vision of a cancer-free world.

“Terry said ‘even if I don’t finish, we need others to continue,’ and that’s what we’ve been doing for 40 years. And now with the last six or seven months or so that we’ve been dealing with COVID, we’ve had to work a little bit harder,” he points out. “Terry said that anything is possible if you try. We’re hoping that people who participated in the run over the years will step it up and try that much harder this year, in a more difficult year. Even though we’eve been dealing with COVID, people are still dealing with cancer.”

Despite the run being virtual this year, Fred hopes to see lot’s of participation on social media.

“Cancer research is so important, Terry saw that 40 years ago. $800-million later and the impact has been incredible for cancer research in this country,” Fred explains.

The decision was made back in April that the Terry Fox Run would go virtual this year and there would be no large gatherings.

People are still encouraged to participate by staying in their social bubbles and posting on social media using the hashtag #tryliketerry.

Register and see more about the virtual run here.