As thousands prepare to take part in Terry Fox Runs this weekend to raise money in the fight against cancer, his hometown has a new legacy project in the works.
In Port Coquitlam, Fox’s roots run deep and it doesn’t take long to find someone who has a connection to him.
“We lost someone we knew and were close to,” said Terri Fleming, Fox’s high school basketball coach. “Terry and I, for whatever reason, developed a closeness. Enough so that he came and talked to me about plans.”
After having his right leg amputated in a fight against cancer, Fox made his way west across Canada — one signature stride at a time — during his Marathon of Hope which began in St. John’s, N.L.
Terminal cancer in his lungs forced Fox to suspend his run near Thunder Bay, Ont. on September 1, 1980, but not before he had covered …