Terry Fox, what he did was EPIC.

 

The words epic and extreme get tossed around today about many things. “That was an epic night.” “What an epic trip.” “That sport is extreme.” “I do it because it is extreme and no one else is doing it.” Maybe it is all in the perspective of the individual and what they have been through or are trying to accomplish. I am not going to cast dispersions but sometimes these two words are overused and diluted in their context against the actual event or action.

 April 12, 2015 will mark the 35^th anniversary of Terry Fox starting his Marathon of Hope. There was little fanfare when Fox dipped his prosthetic into the Atlantic Ocean in St. John’s Newfoundland on April 12, 1980. 143 days later when Fox had to cut short his run due to the return of Cancer he had become a household name in Canada.

I want to put EPIC into perspective. Fox decided he was going to run across Canada to raise funds for Cancer research and awareness. This meant running with one prosthetic leg, that is extreme. Fox trained for 18 months leading up to the event logging over 5,000 kilometers. Then he ran for 143 days straight starting April 12, 1980 covering 5,373 kilometers. Everyday Fox covered over or close to 42 kilometers, or the distance of a Marathon. Read this paragraph again and think about what Terry Fox did. Terry Fox did something EPIC! Terry Fox had a vision and he went out and lived that day after day.

Terry Fox has become a hero in Canada and the annual Terry Fox run is conducted around the world. The power of this young man’s spirit moves Canadians daily because he had a vision. Fox followed through on that vision and left a legacy that will remain a part of Canadian History for eternity. Fox didn’t run and talk about how EPIC his Marathon was or how EXTREME the thing he was doing truly was. If anyone had the right to do so it was Terry Fox. Fox just ran, day after day.

I challenge you to honor the memory of Terry Fox starting April 12, 2015 by setting an intention to do something healthy for 143 straight days. I have chosen my own personal physical challenge I will perform for those 143 days and will do it in memory of Terry Fox. I am personally moved every year by Fox’s story when the Terry Fox run takes place. This year for 143 days I am going to take the time daily in my life to honor a Canadian hero and someone who actually did something EPIC!

Please take the time to continue the work Terry Fox began and donate to his foundation, the link is attached below.

http://www.terryfox.org/TerryFox/The_Terry_Fox_Foundation.html