Red Deer students weren’t even born when Terry Fox made his way across the country during his Marathon of Hope in 1980.

However, a number of them got an up-close look at his legacy when his older brother Fred Fox dropped by four Red Deer schools on Wednesday.

Fred told the leadership class at Notre Dame High School about his brother’s work ethic and perseverance. He told them that Terry was only an average student and athlete, but what made him stand out was how hard he worked.

Fred said Terry would never give up. The brothers were taught by their parents to finish what they started.

In Grade 8, Terry wanted to join the basketball team but the coach said he didn’t have the skills. Terry took it as a challenge.

His first year, he spent 90 per cent of his time on the bench.

He practised every weekend and every morning, arriving before the janitor came to open the gym.

In his last year of junior high, Terry was the captain of the basketball team and one of the starting guards. He would eventually be offered a spot on the junior varsity basketball team at Simon Fraser University.

In March 1977 at age 18, Terry was diagnosed with a type of bone cancer and had to lose his right leg.

Fred said his brother didn’t feel sorry for himself. “All his life he was told he was too slow, not big enough, not smart enough. This was just another challenge.”

Terry learned how to walk again and then run and eventually he told his family about his Marathon of Hope plan.

Fred said his brother didn’t see the Marathon of Hope as doing a marathon each day, but he took one step at a time, sometimes one telephone pole at a time, setting little goals.

Terry’s friend Doug Alward would take the van one mile ahead and Terry would run to it and then Doug would take it another mile ahead.

Terry Fox was unable to complete his run after his bone cancer metastasized to his lungs. He died in June 1981.

“He was so focused and so determined,” Fred said. “The one thing on his mind was to help other people.”

If he were alive today, Terry Fox would be 51 years old. The Terry Fox Foundation has raised close to $500 million for cancer research since its inception.

The Notre Dame students put more money towards the cause on Wednesday, giving Fred Fox a cheque for $820.

Christine Murphy, a Notre Dame student who helped raise the money, said she never thought about Terry Fox as an average guy before all of this happened to him and it was nice to see what happened beforehand that made him so strong.

Her classmate Becky Statchuk, who also raised money along with others, said she was impressed that Terry would never quit no matter what he did in life.

sobrien@reddeeradvocate.com