 The Terry Fox Run attracted about 3,000 participants Sunday (Sept. 17), drawing the biggest crowd ever for the run in Seoul, but that didn't surprise Canadian Ambassador Marius Grinius.
“The Terry Fox started in Seoul in 1991 with about 50 people, and it gets bigger every year,” he said. “It's a phenomenal story.”
He added that this year Busan is also organizing a Terry Fox Run that will take place Oct. 1.
Grinius, who participated in the run with his wife and two young sons, attributes the success of the annual Terry Fox Run to the hard work of volunteers but especially to the inspirational nature of Terry Fox himself, the 22-year-old Canadian who succumbed to cancer while on a coast-to-coast run across Canada to raise money.
Terry Fox came from the small city of Port Coquitlam in British Columbia, Canada. When he was 18, he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in his right leg. His leg was amputated 15 centimeters above the knee.
During his stay in the hospital, Terry was so overcome by the suffering he saw in the cancer patients around him that he decided to run across Canada _ more than 8,500 kilometers from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean _ to raise funds to fight cancer.
After 143 consecutive days of running 42 kilometers per day, Fox was forced to end his run when cancer spread to his lungs.
Before returning to British Columbia for treatment, he said: “I'm going to do my very best. I'll fight. I promise I won't give up.” On June 28, 1981, one month short of his 23rd birthday, he died.
But his hope and courage still inspire. Now Terry runs take place in over 50 countries. Last year the run in Seoul raised 5.7 million won for the Yonsei Severance Hospital.
This year more funds are expected to be raised, which will also be given to Yonsei for cancer research.
This year Doosan donated free box lunches to participants, and Pfizer, a pharmaceutical company, donated T-shirts.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce organizes the event in Seoul with support from the embassy. This year 150 people volunteered, a jump of 50 from last year. The run started at 9:30 a.m. from the Yeouido Rugby Ground (Han River Civil Park).
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