The Terry Fox Story 1983

Terry Fox is an aspiring young Canadian athlete whose promising career is cut short when a cancerous tumor in his right knee leads to the amputation of his leg. After a period of deep self-reflection, he falls in love with Rika Noda, a Christian teacher for mentally disabled children who becomes a steady source of encouragement as he rebuilds his confidence.

Despite disapproval from his mother, Betty Fox, he forges a bold path forward and makes a life-changing decision that will define the years ahead. On April 12, 1980, Terry dips his artificial limb into the Atlantic Ocean in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and sets off on a Marathon of Hope across Canada to raise money for cancer research, the disease he has been battling for three years.

That summer, he hobbles into Toronto, welcomed by more than 10,000 Canadians who have embraced him as a national symbol of perseverance and resolve. On September 1, after more than 3,000 miles, he collapses in Thunder Bay, Ontario and is hospitalized, his body battered but his spirit undeterred.

Along the journey, he is joined by his friend Doug Alward, whose steady presence helps him cope with the setbacks and the moments of anger when the goals stretch beyond what seemed possible. Bill Vigars, the public relations officer for the Cancer Society of Canada, travels with him as well and masterminds a publicity campaign that mobilizes broad support and turns Terry’s Marathon of Hope into a national movement.