Almost four decades after Terry Fox’s legendary marathon across Canada, his legacy is stronger than ever.

Children, teenagers, adults, seniors, and even their beloved pets were running at Woodbine Beach Sunday, all united for a greater cause. Many have been touched by cancer in their personal lives.

Two smiles shone brighter than the rest: those of Dr. Eva Chan, 42, a Toronto, chiropractor and her 6-year-old son Tobias. They were both part of a group of four people running for her Aunt Daisy.

“She passed away of colorectal cancer three years ago,” Chan explained.

“She never went to the doctor!”, Tobias piped up, while his mother smiled softly.

Chan’s team has been participating for three years, and this year they raised almost a thousand dollars to donate to research. Eva strongly believes in the importance of raising awareness and money, because no cure to treat cancer has been found yet. The annual Terry Fox Run is their way of contributing to this cause.

She later said how proud she is of Tobias, who is only six and ran most of the 5 km.

“As long as we can do it, we will do it every year,” Chan vowed.

This year marks the 39th anniversary of the historic Terry Fox run across Canada, and for the past four years Pamela Politano has organized the Beaches Run.

“I’ve participated my whole life. Same with my kids, they are 13 and 16 and they participate since they were babies,” she said.

Their goal is to raise $100,000, but it’s too soon to tell how much money was donated this year. Politano said that Terry Fox’s family stays away from commercializing the event too much: the only item for sale being an annual T-shirt, which is designed differently every year.

The Terry Fox Run is organized by volunteers and relies solely on donations.

“It’s a great charity. It’s one of the charities where the money goes to research,” she explained.