'Terry's legacy continues to inspire': Hundreds participate in 43rd Terry Fox Run in Winnipeg

Hundreds of runners and walkers in Assiniboine Park kicked off the 43^rd annual Terry Fox Run Sunday, with Terry Fox's own brother leading the pack.

Sunday Was Fred Fox's first run in Winnipeg – the city where he and his siblings were born. He said he still remembers when his younger brother decided to run across the country to raise funds for cancer research.

"When Terry said he was going to do something, he usually did it. So I kind of took it for granted that he was going to run across Canada," he said, adding their mom was not so sure about it.

"She thought it was a crazy idea. She tried to encourage him just to run through B.C., but Terry's answer was, 'Mom, not only people in B.C. get cancer. People right across the country do. I have to run across Canada.'"

Hundreds of runners and walkers in Assiniboine Park kicked off the 43rd annual Terry Fox Run Sunday. (Source: Danton Unger, CTV News)

Terry Fox started his Marathon of Hope on April 12, 1980, starting on the Atlantic coast and running 5,373 kilometres before a return of cancer forced him to stop in Thunder Bay.

He died on June 28, 1981.

More than four decades years since that first Marathon of Hope, Terry's brother says he never could have expected what it would become.

"He'd be amazed he'd be so proud. When he was in Toronto Terry said, 'Even if I don't finish, we need others to continue. It's got to keep going without me.' And Canadians have taken up that challenge."

Winnipeg's mayor Scott Gillingham says Sunday was a special moment for the city – welcoming Terry Fox back for the run.

"Winnipeg has an extra special affection towards Terry Fox," he said. "There are so many children here at today's walk and run, and that just reminds us of how Terry's legacy continues to inspire people across our nation."

It's a legacy that Sachin Katyal, a senior scientist within the Paul Albrechtsen Research Institute with CancerCare Manitoba, says has had a huge impact.

"We have seen monumentous changes, just amazing how much we move the needle in cancer research," he said. "More importantly, how those research findings are impacting patients, from yesterday from today and in the future."

To date, the Terry Fox Foundation has raised more than $850 million towards cancer research. Terry's legacy of hope continues in the minds of hundreds of runners carrying on the run he started more than four decades ago.

More than four decades years since that first Marathon of Hope, Terry's brother says he never could have expected what it would become. (Source: Danton Unger, CTV News)

The theme of this year's Terry Fox Run is 'Dear Terry' referencing the letters he received following that very first Marathon of Hope.

The Terry Fox Foundation is welcoming people to head to their website and write their own 'Dear Terry' letter sharing how Terry's legacy has inspired them.