This year marks the 45th anniversary of Terry Fox’s “Marathon of Hope” and, to honour the Canadian icon, Adidas is releasing a limited-edition replica of his famous running shoes.
The Adidas Orion shoe, worn by Fox during his historic 1980 run, will soon be available for purchase, with proceeds benefiting cancer research. This re-release is a product 20 years in the making.
“It was actually 2005 when the shoe was released,” says Martha McClew, chief operating officer of the Terry Fox Foundation. “It was quite amazing to think what powered the man across Canada had never really been noticed or seen.”
Back then, Adidas agreed to make a limited number of pairs, which sold out in stores in a single day.
“Which sounds like a long time, except back then you had to go to the store to buy it,” McClew notes.
Colin McQuade, co-founder of the Greater Moncton Running Club, is excited about the release.
“I think they’re iconic,” he says.
“Everything about them has that special meaning. When you look at Terry Fox running, I wonder what it would be like to have run in those shoes.”
The Terry Fox Foundation emphasizes that one doesn’t need to be a runner to find inspiration in the shoes.
“But I think that there’s something about that shoe that represents absolute perseverance, determination, sheer force of will. Whether you’re an athlete or not, that’s kind of what we all need in our lives,” McClew explains. “It could not represent the man more… humble and absolutely determined to take himself to the limit for this cause.”
Whatever you’re struggling with, McClew says Terry Fox reminds us we just need to take the next step forward.
“That’s literally what you can do with these shoes,” he said.
The Terry Fox shoes go on sale Thursday morning on the Adidas website, with all proceeds going toward cancer research.
