The $2 Million Man

Terry Fox, 22, is a fitness-minded British Columbian who played soccer and basketball at Simon Fraser University near Vancouver--until 3 1/2 years ago, when he learned that he had bone cancer. His right leg was amputated above the knee in March 1977, a blow that seemed certain to rule out further athletic achievement. Yet this summer, Fox caught the imagination of Canadians by attempting an extraordinarily punishing feat as a long-distance runner. On April 12 he set out from St. John's, Newfoundland, intent on running 5,300 miles across the continent to Vancouver.

Fox talked the Canadian Cancer Society into sponsoring his run as a fund-raising venture, and he wore a white T shirt labeled MARATHON OF HOPE. Said he: "I wanted to show people that just because they're disabled, it's not the end."

In towns and cities along the way, crowds of well-wishers turned out to cheer him on. In Toronto, 10,000 people greeted him. It was impossible not to admire his gutsiness and determination. He ran with a kind of hop and a skip with his prosthetic leg, on good days covering up to 30 miles. He ran through rain, snow and hailstones during the early weeks, then endured the sizzling afternoon sun of June and July. At one point, a welder did spot repairs on the artificial limb.

Some Canadians said they felt a little squeamish at the newspaper and television pictures of his occasionally bloody stump and his face contorted in pain. Still, editorialists applauded his perseverance, and one sportswriter even urged his selection as Canada's Athlete of the Year.

Last week, after Fox had raised nearly $2 million in pledges for cancer research, his run came to an abrupt end, more than halfway to his goal. Three miles outside Thunder Bay, Ont,, and 3,336 from his starting point, Fox began coughing and choking, with pain in his neck and chest. He bravely ran on, so as not to disappoint spectators who had waited for him, but soon checked into a local hospital for tests. The verdict: his cancer has spread. As he told reporters tearfully, "I've got it in my lungs."

The Canadian Cancer Society says the diagnosis "took us by surprise. We had no reports of ill health." Fox flew home to Vancouver, vowing to finish his run if he can. Said he: "I've lived one day at a time before and I will now."

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