On April 12, 1980, a young, virtually unknown Terry Fox stood in St. John's, N.L., and set his sights west, to start his Marathon of Hope.

As he ran 42 kilometres each day through the Atlantic provinces, Quebec and Ontario, the energy surrounding him grew.

Eventually, the 21-year old had the attention of politicians and professional athletes.

On Sept. 1, after running 5,373 km over 143 days, the entire nation looked on as Fox announced he would have to stop running, outside of Thunder Bay, Ont., because his primary cancer had appeared in his lungs.

Fox died at the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, B.C., one month short of his 23rd birthday.

Addressing the House of Commons, then Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau stated:

"We do not think of him as one who was defeated by misfortune but as one who inspired us with the example of the triumph of the human spirit over adversity.”

George Maratos has never been directly affected by cancer; but like so many millions worldwide, the Whitehorse resident is inspired by Fox's story. Maratos took over organizing the Whitehorse Terry Fox Run three years ago.

Since then, the numbers participating in the run have grown to as many as 230 last year, when Whitehorse raised some $6,000 toward cancer research.

The Whitehorse run will begin at the SS Klondike at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, with registration beginning at 11:30 a.m.

"People of all ages can participate, of all physical abilities, that's what I take away from this event,” Maratos said.

The run will loop around Millennium Trail, and will be followed by live entertainment, a barbeque and guest speakers, with all proceeds going to the Terry Fox Foundation in Vancouver.

"The best part for me is when I get to count up that money and call down to Vancouver, the office that primarily volunteers themselves, and tell them that we got $5,000 or $6,000 to send them from this small community in a northern part of Canada. It's pretty inspiring.”

Those wishing to make a donation can do so at registration on run day, go online at www.terryfox.org, or pick up donation forms at the Canada Games Centre or at Baked Café.

In February, 1981, Fox's hope of raising $1 from every Canadian to fight cancer was realized; the national population reached 24.1 million – the Terry Fox Marathon of Hope fund totaled $24.17 million.

In 2009, Canadians donated more than $20 million to cancer research through participating in Terry Fox events.