Terry Fox's epic journey still inspires after 35 years

When Darrell Fox thinks back to the days he accompanied his brother Terry Fox along the iconic Marathon of Hope, one thing comes to mind: the smell of their van.

"There was an odour," Darrell told The Early Edition's Rick Cluff.

"We found and restored the van recently, but we haven't brought back the odour, thankfully."

Sunday marks the 35th anniversary of Terry Fox's historic cross-country run to raise money for cancer research. The Canadian athlete, who had his leg amputated due to cancer, embarked on the journey in 1980 hoping to raise one dollar for each of Canada's residents.

Since then, the Terry Fox Foundation has raised millions of dollars through annual runs that take place all over the world.

Jokes aside, Darrell says he knew the day that he arrived at St. John's, N.L., to begin the cross-country journey with his older brother that he was witnessing history in the making.

"He ran over 3,000 miles even before he dipped his artificial leg in the Atlantic Ocean, and I witnessed many of those miles," Darrell said.

"But to see him that first day in St. John's, I really recognized that he was fulfilling a dream … I knew that this would be something that had a legacy."

Terry Fox was going to school in British Columbia when he was diagnosed with cancer. Despite having his leg amputated, he made it his mission to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.

He started in St. John's and ran for 143 days, making it to just outside Thunder Bay, Ont., before the cancer claimed his life.  

To commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Marathon of Hope this weekend, Darrell says he and his family will head to St. John's, where it all began, to kick off celebrations and fundraisers for the 2015 Terry Fox Run.  

To hear the full story, listen to the audio labelled: Darrell Fox remembers older brother Terry Fox