A U.S. resident who ran in college, looked up to Terry Fox and has battled health issues of her own is setting off to complete his Marathon of Hope.
Helene Neville has battled multiple cancer diagnoses and brain surgeries, but it has not stopped her from achieving her goals.
She is a nurse, mom, grandmom, entrepreneur, author, and speaker.
The 64-year-old set up at the Terry Fox monument in Thunder Bay on Thursday, where Fox was forced to stop his run on August 31, 1980.
She is making the journey across the rest of Canada, heading toward British Columbia as a tribute to Fox’s enduring legacy and a call to others to push beyond their limits.
Her hope is to complete the final roughly 3,200 kilometres that Fox was unable to finish, ending in Victoria, B.C., on her 65th birthday.
“Terry Fox embodied hope, and that’s what this run is about,” said Neville. “He never gave up, and neither will I. This isn’t just about me, it’s about every person fighting cancer, overcoming adversity, and believing in something greater than themselves.”
Helene Neville getting onto the Trans Canada Highway to finish the Marathon of Hope – (CJ Goater/Acadia Broadcasting)
Neville has experience with significant journeys.
At age 49, she participated in a solo run that spanned nine years, covering 13,850 miles across the United States and parts of Canada and Mexico.
According to Neville, she is the first woman to run across all 50 states of the United States and only the second runner to do so.
After her run across the states was complete in October 2020, after feeling ill, she was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive stage IV non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma that had already metastasized to her liver, bone marrow, spleen, sacrum, and long bones.
The diagnosis and prognosis were grim.
“I was training at that time to complete this run, and I was diagnosed with stage four cancer that had already metastasized,” said Neville. “And so it’s been my dream to get well. I’m in remission, and then to finish the run for him. Carry the torch 45 years later.”
Neville first entered remission in 2021.
“I run for those who can’t. I run to uplift the unseen, the unheard, and the heroes who fight silent battles. I run in memory of those who are no longer with us. I run to prove that human potential knows no limits. I run for peace, hope, and unity—to show that love will always outweigh hate and that goodness will always prevail.”
If you are interested in following along on the journey, you can click here to visit Neville’s website or here for the Facebook page.
