Saskatchewan teacher hopes young Canadians remember Terry Fox

For Saskatoon's Kelly Stang, today is all about finishing what a true Canadian hero started.

The 35th Annual Terry Fox Run takes place across the country today. People will be walking, running, biking and rolling across Saskatchewan.

Stang, a teacher in Saskatoon, said she was born the year of Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope, but she still remember idolizing him.

"I remember we played Terry Fox around the yard," she said. "We did his little hop, skip and we had a book that was called 'The Value of Facing a Challenge' and it was the story of Terry Fox. It was a cartoon book and his shoes were named Speedy and Spunky. I remember that being one of our favourites. That book really struck home."

I was talking to my Grade 3 students ... and they didn't know who he was. I thought, 'How can you not know who Terry Fox is?'- Kelly Stang

When Stang was 14 years old, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Luckily, she survived. And as Stang grew up, her respect for Fox grew as well.

"Throughout life he's just been a Canadian hero," she said. "I'm a big Canada fan and he really united the country."

Stang is now a teacher and she believes it's important to continue sharing the story of Terry Fox with her students.

"I was teaching Grade 3 (in Halifax) and they hadn't had a Terry Fox Run at their school," she said. "So I was talking to my Grade 3 students — in September of course — and they didn't know who he was. I thought, 'How can you not know who Terry Fox is?'

"I thought this was a huge opportunity and I just couldn't believe that they didn't know. Luckily we had a principal at the time who was a huge fan of his too and so he got the run started at the school and it's become an annual thing for them now."

When Stang came back to Saskatchewan from Nova Scotia, she drove on the Terry Fox Memorial Highway.

"We would put in a good 10, 14 hours driving every day and we're tired and you're sitting in a car all day and your bottom is getting sore," she said. "I just kept on thinking, 'I'm complaining and Terry ran every single step of this highway and it was just mind blowing — that he was running a marathon a day. People train months, years for one marathon."

"It's ridiculous. It's overwhelming to think about. It was a very inspirational drive home."