Terry Fox’s iconic ‘Van of hope’ on display in Halifax Museum

The 1980 Ford Econoline that was often seen just steps behind Terry Fox on his marathon across the country is now on display at the Steele Wheels Motor Museum in Halifax.

The exhibition went up 46 years to the day Fox after dipped his prosthetic leg in the Atlantic Ocean in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and started his iconic Marathon of Hope.

In March of 1977, Fox was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a bone cancer that led to the amputation of his right leg. In April of 1980, he began a marathon, hoping to run from the East Coast all the way to the west and raise money for cancer research along the way.

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Often pictured behind him on his run was the Ford van that had earned the nickname “Van of Hope.”

Behind the wheel was Fox’s brother Darrell or high school friend Doug Alward, making the van their home on the road.

To this day, the van features a 1980s-era interior and lettering from the period, thanks to its restoration in 2008 by Ford Canada.

With the van never far behind him, Fox ran for 143 days on the Marathon of Hope, covering more than 5,300 kilometres and becoming a national sensation along the way.

His run came to an abrupt end in September 1980, just outside Thunder Bay, Ont., when doctors discovered that Fox’s cancer had made its way into his lungs. Fox died in June of 1981.