The Story
Terry Fox was eighteen when osteosarcoma led to the amputation of his right leg above the knee. During treatment, he saw children facing cancer and began imagining a cross-Canada run to raise money for research. In 1980, Fox began the Marathon of Hope in St.
John's, Newfoundland, running roughly a marathon a day on an early prosthetic leg. The effort was punishing. As news spread, communities gathered and donations increased. After 143 days and more than 5,000 kilometers, pain and coughing forced him to stop near Thunder Bay. Cancer had spread to his lungs. Fox died in 1981 at age twenty-two.
The story must not pretend that courage cured him or that stopping was failure. The continuing Terry Fox Runs have raised enormous support for cancer research. His unfinished route became a shared responsibility.
The Decision
He decided to turn his own cancer experience into a public effort for people he might never meet.
The Reelspiration
You do not have to complete the entire distance for your effort to become a road others continue.
The Principle
An unfinished mission can outlive its founder when the purpose is clear enough for others to carry.
Your Next Step
State the purpose behind one project so clearly that someone else could continue it without you.
