40 years ago today Terry Fox, a 21 year old Canadian who lost a leg to cancer, began an east to west cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for cancer research. He ran the equivalent of a full marathon every day and made it to 145 days and 5,373km before he was forced to stop and he lost his battle with cancer.
I think at first it didn’t. As much as history tells us everyone was watching, the reality is that he had some long hard runs through many areas where he wasn’t getting much recognition and wasn’t getting many donations either. Someone from British Columbia walking through Quebec faced some serious challenges in 1980. The big cities speak English, but a lot of the smaller communities along the highway are very French and don’t really speak English.
That thankless run across Quebec, where he was getting run off the road constantly by drivers, barely any attention, and few donations, it must’ve been a herculean task.
If I had to guess, I think it’s probably the Cancer Society that was sponsoring him was able to pull some strings and make his arrival in Ontario on Canada Day (July 1st) a really special event, he met with the prime minister of Canada, prominent sports teams, and virtually anyone he thought would help the cause of cancer research. He became something of a celebrity after that.
A fun fact is that cardio exercise expands your hippocampus, and that indirectly leads to elevation of serotonin levels. So anyone who sets out on a long journey on foot, after about two weeks of that journey their personality will be transformed (and it will continue transforming) into a happier, more socially connected, more charismatic version of themselves.
I suspect this is the secret ingredient behind lots of historical episodes. For example Gandhi walked all over India and that was the basis for his effectiveness as an organizer. Deng Xioping was practically defeated but then led his army on a long march to go around the enemy and attack them from an unexpected direction. During that long march, the communists gained support from the people. Probably because as they walked through town they were showing that enhanced charisma. If you believe the bible, all sorts of people became leaders by doing long walks.
The kid probably didn’t have the social chops to make much of a stir before his runs, but doing that transformed him and so nearer the end anyone who met him would be blown away by his magnetic attraction and inspired by his presence.