Carol Baker’s 45-Year Mission with the Terry Fox Run

45 years after Terry Fox set out to run across Canada on one leg, Charlotte County prepares once more to lace up, not only in remembrance but in living continuation of his cause. On Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, the Terry Fox Run will return to St. Stephen, beginning at Neighbourhood Works at 1 p.m. (with registration at 12:30 p.m.), and for one woman it will mark a personal milestone: nearly half a century of service to a dream that never dimmed.

For Carol Baker of St. Stephen, the run is not an annual event but a lifelong vocation. She has volunteered every year since the very first in 1980, when Canadians rallied behind Fox after his Marathon of Hope was cut short by cancer.

“The first thought is, why me? The next is, why not me?” Baker reflected, recalling both her own battle with melanoma and Fox’s ability to transform private suffering into a public mission of hope.

A Community Tradition

Here, the run has become as much a ritual as a fundraiser, woven tightly into Charlotte County’s social fabric. Schoolchildren grow up with Fox’s story; families walk, bike, or run together. Even across the border in Calais, Maine, neighbours join in.

In the weeks leading up to the run, Baker can be found outside the Giant Tiger store, raising funds by selling the official Adidas-designed T-shirts and accepting donations of every size. Local artist Dan “the Clay Man” contributes handcrafted necklaces from Bay of Fundy clay, pieces that have become cherished tokens for donors who want to give with meaning.

Participation is deliberately flexible. Baker once mapped out formal 2 km, 5 km, and 10 km routes through town, but now she encourages people to take to the riverside trail across from the civic centre. If rain intervenes, walkers move indoors to the civic centre’s track.

“Do what you can,” she insists. “Walk, run, bike—even a pogo stick. Everyone belongs.” Last year, a 101-year-old first-timer joined the run, a living reminder that Fox’s vision was always about inclusion, not competition.

Science and the Cause

For Baker, the day is never just about exercise; it is about research. Funds raised support the Terry Fox Research Institute, which now drives advancements at the frontier of cancer science. She cites recent breakthroughs in precision oncology, including the use of artificial intelligence to explain why treatments sometimes falter over time. Such discoveries, she notes, are pushing medicine toward earlier detection, personalized therapies, and gentler care — precisely the future Fox dreamed of when he said, “Somewhere, the hurting must stop.”

A Nation’s Flame

This year, the anniversary brings added resonance. On Sept. 21, the Confederation Bridge will host a rare Terry Fox Run of its own, closing to traffic so runners, walkers, and wheelchair participants can cross between Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. Pre-registration is already drawing Canadians from across the country, a vivid reminder of the run’s power to unite.

Back in Charlotte County, Baker is aiming to raise $3,000 personally and is quick to emphasize that it is not the dollar figure but the participation that counts.

“As Terry said, it’s not the amount—it’s the meaning.” Volunteers are welcome to post notices, sit with her at Giant Tiger (Sept. 4–5 and 11–12), or simply show up and give what they can.

Enduring Influence

Asked what sustains the run’s spirit, Baker points to the schools, the 9,000 volunteers who organize it nationwide, and above all, to Fox himself: a young man who turned illness into inspiration and taught a country to believe in the possibility of cures.

In St. Stephen, that belief remains palpable. On Sept. 14, the town will gather not only to remember Terry Fox but to continue the journey he could not finish. In the enduring footsteps of Carol Baker, Charlotte County shows how a national story can live on in the heartbeat of one small community.