Going on more than 20 years now, Eddy Nolan has been on a mission to honour Terry Fox and everything he stood for.

With full support from the school’s

students and faculty, Nolan has managed to turn that mission into a one-hundred-grand gesture.

Nolan ran in his first Terry Fox event in 1981, not long after Fox had his own quest stopped short near Thunder Bay, Ont., and has been helping organize Roslyn’s event for the last five years.

While schools and organizations all over Canada hold successful events in honour of Fox each year, under Nolan’s guidance, the Roslyn run is on a whole other level.

As of this year, the elementary school has raised over $100,000 for the fight against

cancer.

For Nolan, a marathon runner himself, it’s just a way of life.

“I’ve been doing this for 26 years and from what I understand, I’m one of the few people in Canada who have done every Terry Fox Run since 1981. When I showed up at Roslyn, the kids were wondering why I was collecting money from the teachers, so they did some research on it and everyone’s gotten involved since,� said Nolan, who got into the sport of running kind of by accident.

“I was a boxer in the ‘70s and early ‘80s and injured my hand one year, so I picked up my running to keep in shape. I had heard about the Montreal Marathon, which is 26.2 miles, so that’s a little crazy. I was able to run about nine kilometres, and that was hard enough, but when I saw Terry Fox running the way he did on one leg every day, I thought I might as well give it a try,� said Nolan.

“I knew running was hard, and I have two legs. Seeing this guy run on one leg was just inspirational. I remember when he died, basically the whole country came to a standstill. It was just something special, he was our boy.�

The program started out in earnest in 2002, with Nolan et al raising about $16,000. Year Two saw a total of $14,000 raised with a similar amount raised in 2003. The big jump came last year when Roslyn brought in close to $32,000, making the total about $20k short of the hundred-grand mark.

With the help of a signed Sydney Crosby hockey jersey and the Team 990 this year, Roslyn raised close to $25,000 to break the magic mark of $100,000 in just five years.

Nolan credits the whole school for the effort, but one of his coworkers stands out in particular.

“Without Linda Butt, who is a gym teacher at the school, we wouldn’t have been this successful. It’s because of people like her, the kids and everyone else, who has put in so much effort that we’ve raised so much,� Nolan said.

“This is a tribute to Terry Fox, who was a real national hero.�