A fresh documentary trailer showcasing unseen footage of Terry Fox was unveiled today, a month before its debut at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Titled “Run Terry Run,” the film delves into the iconic British Columbia athlete’s 1980 Marathon of Hope, utilizing nearly 100 newly retrieved archival reels.
The trailer includes insightful commentary from key figures such as van driver Doug Alward, Terry Fox’s brother Darrell Fox, and Fox himself, expressing his determination to complete his cross-Canada run to raise funds for cancer research after losing his leg to osteogenic sarcoma.
Director Sean Menard of Toronto unearthed the raw footage from filmmaker John Simpson, who had initially believed the footage was discarded after creating his own documentary. Motivated by the scarcity of quality footage on Fox’s journey, Menard collaborated with the Terry Fox Foundation to locate and restore the footage, enhancing it to 4K quality for his film.
The documentary, without traditional interview segments, incorporates voiceovers from notable individuals like Leslie Scrivener, the first journalist to cover the Marathon of Hope, and Darryl Sittler, the former Toronto Maple Leafs captain who ran alongside Fox during a portion of his journey.
Terry Fox commenced his marathon on April 12, 1980, aiming to traverse from St. John’s to Victoria but had to halt the run near Thunder Bay, Ontario, due to his illness. Despite his untimely passing in 1981, Fox’s endeavor raised over $24 million back then, with the Terry Fox Foundation recently surpassing $1 billion in cancer research funds.
The enduring impact of Terry Fox has been showcased in various documentaries over the years, including the upcoming “Run Terry Run,” set to premiere at TIFF on September 19, coinciding with the annual Terry Fox Run. The film is slated for theatrical release on October 9, 2026.