Spreading inspiration: Montrealers participate in annual Terry Fox Run

Thousands of people kicked off the annual Terry Fox Run at Montreal’s Old Port.

Among the sea of participants were a few familiar faces.

Cancer survivor Eddy Nolan ran his 38th consecutive Terry Fox Run, adding yet another sticker to his collection.

“I made the first five kilometres and I was seriously ready to quit,” he said. “Two people told me pack it in, but I looked down at my tattoo, I looked again at Terry and I said to myself, ‘Just do it, just go for it.'”

READ MORE: Montreal man, cancer survivor, marks 35th consecutive Terry Fox run

Despite his difficulties, he says, his inspiration and the up-and-coming generation keep him going.

“What I like is that they’re spreading the message,” he said. “They’re spreading the message to the youth.

“I’m an old veteran now, the old guy,” he laughed. “So I’ll let them take charge from here on in.”

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WATCH: Veteran Terry Fox Run organizer gets first chance to join runners

1:54 Veteran Terry Fox Run organizer gets first chance to join runners

Avid runner Patrick Charlebois was also on hand.

The Quebecer, known for taking on the World Marathon Challenge last year — running seven marathons in seven days on seven continents — just recently completed the Canadian marathon challenge.

READ MORE: Man to run 10 marathons in 10 days to honour Terry Fox

He ran every day for 10 days in 10 different Canadian cities to honour Terry Fox.

“Running is the easy part,” he said. “To find a cure for cancer,  that’s the hard part, so I’m working on that right now.”

It’s much of the same for the “Montreal Runners.”

READ MORE: Montreal students planning to run from Montreal to Vancouver to raise funds for cancer research

Global News spoke to the six students in May, as they prepared for their journey of running across Canada to raise $50,000 for the Terry Fox Foundation.

“We had lots of emotional roller coasters, but everything went well,” said one of the runners, Matthieu Blouin. “We got a good reception, good donations, we got the support from the community and the reach we wanted. I think it went phenomenal.”

From a huge run to the Montreal one, the runners say it’s nice to be among a crowd who all have the same goal — raising money for cancer, while honouring and following in the footsteps of a giant Canadian legacy.