The charity event takes place every year in honour of Terry Fox, who lost a leg to cancer. In order to raise money for treatment, in 1980 he embarked on a run across Canada, which he called the Marathon of Hope. He ran 143 days, covering 42 km a day, but failed to finish the run because the disease came back, claiming his life at 22. In his memory, the Fox family launched a drive to raise money for the fight against cancer, which is held every year in Canada and over 60 countries across the world, including Croatia.
The Canadian ambassador in Croatia, Louise LaRocque, said it was inspiring to see that the Marathon of Hope had been going on throughout the world for 35 years and that Terry Fox had become popular in Croatia too. Your generosity in helping raise awareness and funds is admirable, she said.
The event is being organised by the MPG agency, the Canadian Embassy, the Croatian League Against Cancer, Zagrebacki Holding, the Esplanade Zagreb Hotel and the Media Val communication management agency.
The first Marathon of Hope in Croatia was held in 2000 and since then it has helped raise nearly 5 million kuna (666,000 euros) for cancer research.