11 things we learned about Terry Fox from Run Terry Run
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we → learn → Run
New documentary draws on 96 reels of previously unseen footage
Terry Fox is one of Canada's most recognizable heroes, with generations of Canadians having seen archival footage of his iconic 1980 run, as he crossed the country to raise awareness and money for cancer research.
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he → draw → research
But Run Terry Run, a new documentary that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last month, makes the case that there is still much to learn about the young man behind the Marathon of Hope.
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that → premier → Hope
Directed by Sean Menard, the film draws on 96 reels of previously unseen footage, bringing Fox's voice, humour, frustrations and determination to the screen.
Run Terry Run, the upcoming Terry Fox documentary, has a new trailer
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Menard, who previously made the self-funded MuchMusic documentary 299 Queen Street West, was inspired to search for first-hand documentation of Fox's marathon due to the limited amount of high-quality footage available.
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who → direct → footage
Aided by the Terry Fox Foundation, he discovered the footage in a Toronto storage unit a few blocks from his own home.
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he → aid → home
He subsequently restored the reels of film to 4K quality and used it to make his film.
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He → restore → film
Here are some of the things we learned from the documentary.
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we → learn → documentary
Terry Fox didn't reach his destination — but he ran thousands of kilometres for his cause
Fox's goal was to run from St. John's to Victoria, a total distance of about 8,000 kilometres.
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goal → reach → kilometres
He planned to cover about 42 kilometres — the distance of a marathon — each day.
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He → plan → marathon
In Ontario, however, he made several detours to speak at rallies, meet supporters and promote cancer research.
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he → make → research
Those stops meant he did not travel as far west as he might have on a more direct route — perhaps reaching Manitoba or Saskatchewan — but they did help turn the Marathon of Hope into a national movement.
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they → mean → movement
He was forced to stop near Thunder Bay, Ont., on Sept. 1, 1980, after learning that the cancer had spread to his lungs.
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cancer → force → lungs
By then, he had run 5,373 kilometres in 143 days.
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he → run → days
Terry Fox and his best friend fought, so Fox's younger brother joined the journey
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brother → fight → journey
Terry Fox and his best friend, Doug Alward, began the Marathon of Hope in St. John's on April 12, 1980, but the physical demands of the run and the strain of living together in a van had created tension.
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demands → begin → tension
Terry's younger brother, Darrell Fox, then 17, joined them in New Brunswick in May.
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brother → join → May
He helped ease the friction between the two friends by acting as a mediator.
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He → help → mediator
He was frustrated by some media coverage
Fox cared deeply about how journalists portrayed him and the Marathon of Hope.
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journalists → frustrate → Hope
He became frustrated when stories failed to capture the purpose of his run, particularly when they focused on disagreements with Alward or Darrell.
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they → become → Alward
Before Terry became a national figure, Toronto Star journalist Leslie Scrivener documented his journey in a weekly column called Running with Terry.
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Scrivener → become → Terry
Her reports helped build public support for the run, which grew from a cause many people initially doubted into a national movement.
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people → help → movement
4. He did not want sponsorship money for himself
Terry was determined that money raised throughout his run would go to cancer research.
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money → want → research
He did not want to accept sponsorship money or personal financial support.
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He → want → money
But organizations began helping in other ways.
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organizations → begin → ways
The Canadian Cancer Society hired a publicist named Bill Vigars, Ford donated a van and Adidas provided running shoes.
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Adidas → hire → shoes
The public campaign also inspired music.
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campaign → inspire → music
Country singer Nancy Ryan recorded Run, Terry, Run, written by Vern Kennedy, with proceeds donated to the Canadian Cancer Society.
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Ryan → record → Society
Terry Fox, centre, poses with best friend Doug Alward, left, and younger brother Darrell Fox, right, in front of the Van of Hope in White River, Ont., in August 1980.
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Fox → pose → August
He thought a car accident contributed to his cancer
When Terry was 18, he was involved in a car accident that he believed caused or contributed to the cancer in his right knee.
Doctors, however, told him there was no connection between the accident and his osteosarcoma — a rare and aggressive form of bone cancer.
The pain he experienced after the crash was an early symptom of the disease, which was diagnosed in 1977 and ultimately led to the amputation of his right leg.
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which → think → leg
He drew inspiration from other children with cancer
Terry's experience recovering in hospital, including watching other young patients die from cancer, helped shape his decision to run across Canada.
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patients → draw → Canada
The film shows how Terry wanted the Marathon of Hope to give people affected by cancer a sense that something could be done.
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something → show → sense
His goal was to raise money for research so future patients would have better treatment options.
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patients → raise → options
He disliked going to the doctor and avoided it
Terry Fox was determined and disciplined, but he did not enjoy medical appointments.
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he → dislike → appointments
The documentary reveals a young man who resisted seeing doctors and did not want to be defined by his illness.
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who → reveal → illness
This scene from Run Terry Run captures Terry Fox reattaching his prosthetic leg at a roadside rest stop in northern Ontario after swimming with friends in the summer of 1980.
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Fox → capture → 1980
He had a complicated relationship with his prosthetic leg
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He → have → leg
As Terry lost weight during the run, his prosthetic leg became increasingly difficult and painful to wear.
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leg → lose → run
Because it no longer fit properly, it caused friction against his stump, and he needed to have it replaced.
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it → fit → stump
In one particularly difficult moment, Terry becomes angry after someone notices blood running down his leg.
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blood → become → leg
The documentary footage captures the growing strain between Terry's changing physical condition and his determination to keep running.
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footage → capture → condition
…and 32 more, not listed.
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