PORT COQUITLAM (NEWS1130) – The 31st annual Terry Fox Run was an especially emotional one this year. It was the first time Terry’s father Rolly was at the event without his wife by his side. 

“I know Betty would’ve just loved it. She was looking forward to it,” he tells News1130.

Betty died back in June, 30 years to the month that her son Terry died.  Rolly’s memories of his son Terry running his Marathon of Hope are still fresh in his mind. 

“When he was running he was forever waving at people, cars were always honking,” Rolly says.

When Rolly was asked about his favourite part of the run, he jokingly answered “the finish line.” 

“Seriously though, meeting the people. That was my favourite part, meeting the people.”

Hundreds of thousands of Canadians across the country have also honoured Terry Fox and his Marathon of Hope today.

“He used the distance across Canada as sort of a poetic way to bond us all together,” says world-renowned Vancouver artist and author, Douglas Coupland, who was chosen to design the newly unveiled Terry Fox memorial outside BC Place.

Coupland adds Terry did something no one else has.

“He put a very fresh and happy face on subjects like cancer, which you didn’t exactly talk about back in 1980. He sort of brought them out of the closet forever and now we can talk about them openly.”

He explains Terry also changed the way we look at the human body and illness, through his attitude and work.

The very first Terry Fox Run raised $300,000. Three decades later over $550 million has been raised in his name.

Over 100 Terry Fox runs took place today across the province and local runs happened at Stanley Park, UBC, Swanguard Stadium and Port Coquitlam.