With just over a week left before the 21st Terry Fox Run is held in Abu Dhabi, families, sports enthusiasts, philanthropists and residents across the Emirates are invited to support cancer research together. Held on Friday 19th January 2018, the Terry Fox Run is the largest single-day fundraiser for cancer research where participants can walk, run, ride or roll to help raise money in the fight against cancer and honour the legacy of Canadian Terry Fox.
Now entering its 21st edition, each year the annual Abu Dhabi race sees an outpouring of energy and caring from the community. Since its inaugural event in 1981, runs across the UAE have contributed significantly towards supporting local innovative cancer research, cumulatively raising AED 22 million to date, and become a must-attend event for those who want to make a difference, and have fun while doing so.
Besides the community support, running for charity causes is a great way to get in shape for any age and have an incredible experience that will last a lifetime. Coinciding with the beginning of the Year of Zayed, the Terry Fox Run is also an excellent opportunity to honour the memory and continue the legacy of the UAE’s founding father who is renowned across the region and the world for his humanitarian efforts.
The Terry Fox Run is free and open to all participants. Simply click here to register. Participants are encouraged to donate if they are able. For those who registered in 2016 and 2017, the registration remains valid.
The 8.5km run will start and end at the East Plaza on the Abu Dhabi Corniche at Al Sahil Beach, and will take the direction towards the Mina Zayed Port. Onsite registration and t-shirt pick up starts at 7:00am and the run commences at 9:00am.
Donations are encouraged (either through t-shirt purchases or monetary donations) and the Foundation also promotes corporate participation. Companies are requested to register online or by emailing [email protected]
Who is 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 15 centimeters (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.
A journey that Canadians never forgot
After 18 months and running over 5,000 kilometers (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 close to 42 kilometers (26 miles) a day through Canada’s Atlantic Provinces, Quebec and Ontario. However, on September 1st, after 143 days and 5,373 kilometers (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 the age 22.
The heroic Canadian was gone, but his legacy was just beginning.
To date, over $700 million has been raised worldwide for cancer research in Terry’s name through the annual Terry Fox Run, held across Canada and in over 32 countries around the world.
