Forty years ago, 21-year-old Terry Fox began his “Marathon of Hope” — a cross-country run to raise money and awareness for cancer research in Canada.
In honour of Fox’s run, adidas is releasing a 40th anniversary commemorative sneaker and T-shirt with 100 percent of the net proceeds going to the Terry Fox Foundation. (adidas, after receiving a letter from the Port Coquitlam, B.C., native who three years earlier had his right leg amputated due to cancer, supplied him with 24 pairs of blue Orion running shoes)
The commemorative collection will feature a replica of those same shoes Fox wore on his epic cross-country journey across Canada, with a few tweaks. The shoelaces will have quotes by Fox on them and “Terry Fox” will be printed in gold alongside the trademark adidas stripes. Each shoe purchase will come with a copy of the letter he sent to adidas.
Fox did not make it across Canada in 1980; his “Marathon of Hope” came to an end after 143 days and 3,339 miles (5,373 km) as the cancer had spread to his lungs. The commemorative T-shirt will include a map and cities he reached along the way on the back — from St. John’s, Nfld., to Thunder Bay, Ont.
Despite coming up short, he left a lasting mark on Canada and across the globe. Now, adidas hopes to raise $1 million for The Terry Fox Foundation via a series of drops over the next six months, each piece paying homage to the iconic Canadian. The commemorative sneaker and T-shirt are part of the first drop.
The collection will be available exclusively in Canada at adidas.ca starting May 20th.
