Terry Fox Run

Terry Fox Run
2006 Terry Fox Run in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada
Status	Active
Genre	Cancer fundraiser
Frequency	Annually, second Sunday after Labour Day
Years active	43 years
Inaugurated	13 September 1981 (1981-09-13)
Founder	Terry Fox
Next event	15 September 2024
Website	www.terryfox.org

The Terry Fox Run is an annual non-competitive charity event held around the world to raise money for cancer research in commemoration of Canadian cancer activist Terry Fox and his Marathon of Hope.

The event was founded in 1981 by Isadore Sharp, who had contacted Terry in hospital by telegram and expressed his wishes to hold an annual run in Terry's name to raise funds for cancer research. Sharp had lost his son to cancer in 1979. The event is held every year on the second Sunday following Labour Day. Since its inception, it has raised via the 'Terry Fox Foundation' over $750 million (CAD).^[1] The run is informal which means that the distance often varies, usually between 5 and 15 kilometres; participation is considered to be more important than completing the set distance. There are also runs set up by schools of every level, often with shorter distances than the "official" ones.

The Terry Fox Run has no corporate sponsorship, in accordance with Terry Fox's original wishes of not seeking fame or fortune from his endeavour. During his cross-Canada run, he rejected every endorsement he was offered (including from multinational corporations such as McDonald's), as he felt that it would detract from his goal of creating public awareness. The Terry Fox Runs have no advertisements on any race related materials (such as T-shirts, banners, etc.).