It was truly inspiring to see Terry crest Beacon Hill Park in Victoria this morning. His wife and road crew stood and watched as he finished his 600 km journey with a smile on his face.
The excitement continued to build as family, friends, and supporting runners all gathered at the Terry Fox statue to begin the 5 km run from Mile Zero to South Park Elementary School. For a while the crowd grew quite big when a bus of Japanese tourists stopped as well. The reason for the tour bus stop was obviously Mile Zero and the Terry Fox statue, but quickly the focus turned and people starting whipping out their cameras and snapping pictures furiously! What was capturing their attention and garnering smiles and laughs? Not Terry, as you might think, but his adorable blond-haired grandson, Andy, and Terry and Judy's equally adorable dog, Mocha! The tourists could not get enough of those two - they definitely stole the show!
Our run began at 9:30 am and we made great time, ending up at the school just before 10:00 am where a wonderful reception met us - complete with the Chariots of Fire soundtrack! Personally, I felt very honoured to be running with an amazing group of athletes, including Jim Finlayson, Mark Cryderman and Karin Kratz.
Terry, thank you so much for being an inspiration to me personally, to the KidStart program, The John Howard Society of North Island, The John Howard Society of Victoria and to all of the current and potential mentors who are motivated by your actions and moved by your words. I will miss the opportunity of turning your daily phone calls into stories on this blog - till next time!
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