After more than four decades of Terry Fox inspiring the nation, his enduring spirit continues to live on in a new generation. Across Canada, the annual Terry Fox Run, which aims to raise funds for cancer research, returns after being virtually halted for nearly two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than four million people are expected to participate this year, including 17-year-old Jorja Scott from Kincardine, Ontario, located along the eastern shore of Lake Huron. Scott told CTV News: "Yes, it's amazing what he did... I couldn't even imagine," as her brother says that Terry Fox’s legacy of resilience echoed throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Scott was diagnosed a year ago with osteosarcoma, the same bone cancer that Fox had, saying he initially started feeling pain while playing sports but didn’t decide to go to the hospital until he started limping when walking. Scott underwent surgery to get a rebuilt new knee and is currently undergoing 18 chemotherapy treatments. But through it all, he says he found strength in Terry Fox. Scott stated: "It's a good influence to look up to during this time."

On April 12, 1980, Fox began his cross-Canada journey known as the Marathon of Hope, starting from St. John's, NL, where he ran close to 42 kilometers a day, from morning to night, across the Atlantic provinces, Quebec, and Ontario, stopping in hundreds of towns, schools, and cities along the way.

On September 1, after 143 days and 5,373 kilometers, Fox was forced to stop outside Thunder Bay, Ontario, after the cancer appeared in his lungs. He later died on June 28, 1981, at the age of 22.

Since then, more than $850 million has been raised for cancer research through the annual Terry Fox Run.

In the same context, Tim Dugway, organizer of the Terry Fox event in Port Williams, NS, about 80 kilometers northwest of Halifax, plans to raise over $2,000 by running 42 kilometers along the scenic Cape Split trail in Nova Scotia - one kilometer for every year the Terry Fox Run has existed. He said: "It's a rewarding trail when you reach the final finish line, look up, and take a look at this view." "It’s my little happy place."