45th anniversary of Terry Fox Run to return to P.E.I.'s Confederation Bridge this September

For the first time in a decade, the Terry Fox Run for cancer research is headed back to the bridge that links Prince Edward Island with the rest of Canada. 

The Terry Fox Foundation announced that the 45th anniversary of the event will take place Sept. 21 on the Confederation Bridge.

Organizers held a flag-raising at Charlottetown's city hall on Monday to officially kick off the event, and to mark 45 years to the day that Fox stopped in P.E.I.'s capital city during his cross-Canada run. 

"We thought it's a great way to launch our event, since primarily the participants are from the Island," said Jamie Young, co-ordinator of the 2025 Confederation Bridge Run.

"It just seemed like a fitting place to do it and a fitting time." 

Fox began his Marathon of Hope on April 12, 1980, after dipping his artificial leg into the harbour in St. John's, N.L.

His mission was to run across Canada raising money for cancer research after the disease had previously claimed his right leg.

A little over a month later, Fox arrived in P.E.I. via ferry and spent the next three days running across the Island, where his fundraising efforts surpassed $100,000.

He eventually ran 5,373 kilometres in 143 days, but was forced to stop outside Thunder Bay, Ont., on Sept. 1, 1980, when doctors confirmed cancer had spread to his lungs.

Fox died less than a year later, one month before his 23rd birthday.

'Finish what he started'

The Terry Fox Run has been held on the Confederation Bridge three previous times — in 2005, 2010 and 2015 — before the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to be postponed in 2020. 

The bridge will be closed to all traffic between 6 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Sept. 21. Regular vehicle traffic will resume immediately after the run.

"As the starting point of his Marathon of Hope 45 years ago, Atlantic Canada was an incredibly special part of Terry's journey," Fred Fox, Terry's older brother, is quoted as saying in a news release.

"The return of the Terry Fox Run on Confederation Bridge in 2025 is not only a celebration of Terry's legacy, but a heartfelt reminder of the unity and support that these communities offered him and an opportunity for Canadians to once again come together and help to finish what he started."

Young said this year's event, which will see a rare closure of the bridge for a non-weather related event, is expected to attract upwards of 10,000 participants. 

People can run or walk either the full 13-kilometre span, or a distance of their choosing, and they can start from either end of the bridge. Registration is now open and free of charge, but advance registration is required.

"There's no question that Terry Fox is a Canadian hero that's lasted the test of time," Young said. "He's a true inspiration, so it's a real honour to be involved."