On September 13, 1981 the first Terry Fox Run to raise money for cancer research took place. It was a result of the incredibly challenging Marathon of Hope begun by, Terry Fox, a young athlete from British Columbia who had lost a leg to cancer and would eventually lose his life to the disease. Terry Fox began what he hoped would be a run across Canada, in St. John’s NL on April 12, 1980. He made it as far as Thunder Bay ON when his cancer returned. He was forced to end his marathon and later died. The CBC mounted a national special called, Terry Fox: The Dream Lives On, to mark the first Terry Fox Run on Terry Fox Day, after his passing, with live segments from many parts of Canada, including St. John’s. Karl Wells interviewed CBC’s anchor of The National, Jan Tennant, for the broadcast. At the time Tennant was chairing the Canadian Cancer Society’s annual fund-raising campaign. (She was referenced in the interview as “chairman” at her request.)
