Into the Wind

Terry Fox is considered one of the greatest Canadians to ever live. He's a hero to Canadians.

If you don't know the story, he was 22 and tried to run across Canada on one leg after he lost his leg to cancer.

He died midway through the run. He ran the equivalent of more than a marathon every day - on one leg, in 1980.

To date, the Terry Fox Foundation has raised over $800 million for cancer research. He changed a country and he saved millions of lives through the advances in science since.

But the story is a look at the historic run. You really should watch it if you don't remember or know the Terry Fox story. And get a hanky. I was 6 the summer Terry ran. Nice to revisit it.

As far as sports go, Terry Fox is not in the same league as any of the other subjects of the "30 for 30" films. The guy was never a professional athlete and the best he ever achieve on any team was a spot of tiny Simon Fraser University's basketball team. During his time in college, Fox was diagnosed with cancer and lost a leg--and yet he is the subject of an ESPN documentary! This is because after losing his leg he went on to become a national hero in his native Canada. This attention all came to him when he began an initially under- publicized run across the nation. Using a very archaic prosthetic leg by today's standards, he sort of hop-walked day after day after day--all in an effort to earn money for cancer research. Fortunately for the cause, after a thousand or so miles, Terry finally started to get some media attention and eventually he became a national hero. However, there's quite a bit more to this bittersweet story--and to learn what became of his story, you'll have to see this one for yourself.

Fox's story is more compelling than most--particularly the "30 for 30" stories that occasionally glorify thuggish behavior (such as the films on the University of Miami and the LA Raiders). Well made and well worth seeing--it's probably one of the best of these films.

Boy, as someone who lives right across from Canada and used to watch Canadian TV as well as USA networks, I was very familiar with the Terry Fox story.

Who couldn't have admiration for his long run through Canada to raise awareness and money for Cancer? It was incredibly inspiring.

This behind-the-scenes look is good because it gives a good profile of Fox and shows the low moments as well as the glamor of being in Canada's spotlight, and what he thought of it all.

The long run was a terrible struggle, physically and mentally,and well-documented here. Kudos to basketball great Steve Nash in his directorial debut.

30 for 30: Into the Wind (2010)

**** (out of 4)

Incredible story of Terry Fox, a 22-year-old man who had his leg removed due to cancer. After seeing how many people younger than him were dying, Terry decided to try and give them hope so he took to running across Canada. Along the way his story began to get out and soon millions of dollars were being raised by 143-days into his journey he got news that the disease had spread to his lungs. I must admit that I had never heard of Terry Fox before this ESPN special but there's no question that it would be impossible to forget the name after seeing this documentary. The story of Fox is a rather incredible one and I think it's one of those stories that could choke up the most bitter person and give hope to the biggest doubter. The documentary, directed by NBA MVP Steve Nash, does a terrific job at showing how much grit Terry had but it also does a great job at showing how much abuse he was putting on his body. Running close to thirty-miles a day, doing three public speeches a day plus other engagements that would come up. Doing all of them while battling cancer plus doing it on one leg. Friends and family of Fox are here and give touching interviews about what it was like going on this journey and the tragic turn it took. At the end of the documentary we learn that to date the Fox Cancer Foundation has raised over $500 million and I'm sure it will raise even more once people see this touching tribute.