Mahler’s Monday Morning Motivator # 31 (09/13/04)
Good Morning All:
A short while back canuckguy57 (Blair) sent this to me as an idea for the Motivator. As I read his introduction, I thought, why change it. He said it most eloquently. Thanks Blair for reminding us of a man who is not only one of Canada’s greatest heroes but a hero of the world and an inspiration in death as he was in life. Read on, gentlemen.
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John:
If I may be so bold, I would like to suggest a subject for one of your "Monday Morning Motivators".
http://www.terryfoxrun.org/english/t...efault.asp?s=1
In my mind, Terry Fox is a true Canadian hero. He was innocent, sincere, an inspiration to all who saw him, and still, almost 25 years later, a legacy all Canadians are proud of. 5 years ago, he was voted Canada's greatest hero in a national survey.
He undertook his "Marathon of Hope" solely for the benefit of others. In his own words - “I’m not doing the run to become rich or famous.”
Imagine running a marathon every day for 143 days.
Now, imagine doing it with one artificial leg.
“Some people can’t figure out what I’m doing. It’s not a walk-hop, it’s not a trot, it’s running, or as close as I can get to running, and it’s harder than doing it on two legs. It makes me mad when people call this a walk. If I was walking it wouldn’t be anything.”
“I’m running on one leg. It may not look like I’m running fast, but I’m going as hard as I can. It bothers me, people coming up beside me. I want to make those guys work. I can’t stand making it easy for them. I’m really competitive. When they run with me, they’re usually running for only two or three miles; for me it might be my twenty-sixth mile.”
Ideally, you could use this on Monday, September 13, the week before the annual "Terry Fox Run"
http://www.terryfoxrun.org/english/t...efault.asp?s=1
Our local community hosts one of the most successful Terry Fox Runs in Canada, especially for its size. Drawing on a population of perhaps 35,000 (including seasonal residents), we have raised more than $100,000 in each of the past 3 years, surpassing cities 5 - 10 times our size.
Here is a list of runs in the USA this year.
http://www.terryfoxrun.org/english/i...efault.asp?s=1
Thanks,
Blair
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About Terry Fox
Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and raised in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, a community near Vancouver on Canada's west coast. An active teenager involved in many sports, Terry was only 18 years old when he was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma (bone cancer) and forced to have his right leg amputated six inches above the knee in 1977.
While in hospital, Terry was so overcome by the suffering of other cancer patients, many of them young children, that he decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.
He would call his journey the Marathon of Hope.
After 18 months and running over 5,000 kilometres (3,107 miles) to prepare, Terry started his run in St. John’s, Newfoundland on April 12, 1980 with little fanfare. Although it was difficult to garner attention in the beginning, enthusiasm soon grew, and the money collected along his route began to mount. He ran 42 kilometres (26 miles) a day through Canada's Atlantic provinces, Quebec and Ontario.
It was a journey that Canadians never forgot.
However, on September 1st, after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 miles), Terry was forced to stop running outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario because cancer had appeared in his lungs. An entire nation was stunned and saddened. Terry passed away on June 28, 1981 at age 22.
The heroic Canadian was gone, but his legacy was just beginning.
To date, more than $340 million has been raised worldwide for cancer research in Terry's name through the annual Terry Fox Run, held across Canada and around the world.
Quotes From Terry
“I don’t feel that this is unfair. That’s the thing about cancer. I’m not the only one, it happens all the time to people. I’m not special. This just intensifies what I did. It gives it more meaning. It’ll inspire more people. I just wish people would realize that anything’s possible if you try; dreams are made possible if you try.
"When I started this run, I said that if we all gave one dollar, we’d have $22 million for cancer research, and I don’t care man, there’s no reason that isn’t possible. No reason!”
“I’m not doing the run to become rich or famous.”
“Some people can’t figure out what I’m doing. It’s not a walk-hop, it’s not a trot, it’s running, or as close as I can get to running, and it’s harder than doing it on two legs. It makes me mad when people call this a walk. If I was walking it wouldn’t be anything.”
“When I ran through that tiny little Sparks Street Mall, the road was so narrow, yet people were running behind me and all these other people were lined up, clapping for me. It was quite a long way down the road where all the people were and I was just sprinting. I was floating through the air and I didn’t even feel a thing. I felt so great. That type of memory you can never take away.”
“If you’ve given a dollar, you are part of the Marathon of Hope .”
“I’m running on one leg. It may not look like I’m running fast, but I’m going as hard as I can. It bothers me, people coming up beside me. I want to make those guys work. I can’t stand making it easy for them. I’m really competitive. When they run with me, they’re usually running for only two or three miles; for me it might be my twenty-sixth mile.”
“Maybe that’s why I’ve made it as far as I have – 2,521 miles. If I ran to a doctor every time I got a little cyst or abrasion I’d still be in Nova Scotia. Or else I’d never have started. I’ve seen people in so much pain. The little bit of pain I’m going through is nothing. They can’t shut it off, and I can’t shut down every time I feel a little sore.”
“It’s one thing to run across Canada, but now, people are really going to know what cancer is.”
“People were still lining the road saying, ‘Keep going, don’t give up, you can do it, you can make it, we’re all behind you.’ There was a camera crew waiting to film me. I don’t think they even realized that they had filmed my last mile… people were still saying, ‘You can make it all the way Terry’. I started to think about those comments in that mile too. Yeah, I thought, this might be my last one.”
“I'm not a dreamer, and I'm not saying this will initiate any kind of definitive answer or cure to cancer, but I believe in miracles. I have to.”
Lloyd Robertson Remembers
One of Canada's most respected new anchors, CTV's Lloyd Robertson, has admired Terry Fox from the beginning. On the 20th anniversary of Terry starting his Marathon of Hope , Mr. Robertson remembered Terry during his newscast. The following is the transcript of his tribute.
“And these final personal thoughts, as we close tonight on this April 12th, 2000. What was it that made Terry Fox so very important to us? Well to me, he embodied the best of the Canadian spirit. We are a generous people, fair-minded, not stridently patriotic, but deeply proud of our country. And we're courageous, when we have to be – just like him.
When Terry had to end his run at Thunder Bay, Ontario, a CTV telethon I was honoured to host raised $10 million for the cause of cancer research.
When he died a few months later, in the spring of 1981, all of us who covered the story felt the pain very deeply. I remember wiping away the tears. And when I looked around, everyone else was crying too. He was our hero. He was one of us. A true grit Canadian.”
April 12, 2000
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Have a great week guys.
In Fitness & Friendship,
Mahler
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