Eddie Nolan of Montreal, who hosted Terry Fox every year for 43 years, has died at the age of 67.

Nolan was born in Pointe St. Charles, south of Montreal, with deep Irish roots. He grew up tough, left home at 16, and learned boxing well enough to win five Golden Gloves championships.

At the age of 22, he decided to train for his first marathon, and he found it difficult. Then one night he turned on the news and watched Terry Fox run. He was shocked.

While Nolan complained about his grueling workouts, Fox ran the distance of a full marathon on one leg every day, losing the other to cancer. Here was Fox, his eyes full of pain and determination, half-jumping, half-running across Canada on his prosthetic leg, trying to help sick children.

“It's a character for me,” Nolan said this week.

Like many Canadians, Nolan was captivated by Fox's journey. After Fox succumbed to cancer at the age of 22, Nolan was on the starting line when the first Terry Fox Run was held in his honor in 1981.

Over the years, Nolan has retraced some of Fox's steps, including running around the track where he trained in British Columbia, and when his Marathon of Hope was cut short due to a return of cancer, the Ont.

A home with Nolan's longtime partner Mary and their dog is a testament to his lifelong dedication to honoring Fox's legacy. Includes a certificate from Terry Fox's first run, photos, paintings, drawings and banners signed by Fox's family and friends.

But the house is a testament to Nolan's own legacy. On the walls and drawers are dozens of hand-drawn cards and messages from elementary school students he met during his long career as a custodian at an English Montreal school and as Terry Fox's protege.

Every year he calls the children “Ed-dee!”, “Ed-dee!” with songs leading up to the annual Terry Fox Running School. he chirped as he began his first lap. He made local news even as he tried to turn his cameras on the students.

“For me, it's always been about the kids,” he said.

Over the years, Nolan has completed an impressive 65 full marathons. He also helped raise nearly $1 million for cancer on Fox's behalf.

Roslyn Elementary School, where Nolan worked for 13 years, held a walkout in his honor on Friday. “Terry Fox inspired Eddie, who in turn inspired us,” said former Roslyn principal Nick Katalifos.

This week, Michael Mazza, executive director of the Terry Fox Foundation, praised Nolan's “tremendous” impact on cancer research in Canada, writing: “We will forever be grateful to Eddie for his generous spirit and incredible support and will miss him greatly.”

In 2011, Nolan's health began to deteriorate when, like his character, he was diagnosed with cancer.

After being treated for throat and neck cancer, he got off all painkillers and returned to running. Soon after, he ran the Washington Marathon, which he finished in less than four hours with a hernia belt and feeding tube.

“I had to see what cancer took from me,” she said.

But in recent years, Nolan's health problems have increased. When she got cancer, the radiation left so much scar tissue that she couldn't feel her face, and it caused pain in her arm. A recent throat operation left him unable to breathe through his nose or mouth, and he spoke shakily through a hole in his throat. A runner who had been running all his life would suddenly not get up and sometimes fall.

Nolan requested medical assistance in the event of his death last October, and doctors confirmed he was fit. When asked if he was uncomfortable with his decision in the final days of his life, he said it was difficult because “nobody in their right mind wants to die.” But while his mind was as sharp as ever, his body failed him. “I want to go with my dignity,” he said.

While she admits she's nervous, even a little scared, she says she's sticking to a quote from Terry Fox tattooed on her ankle under a large image of her hero running.

It says: “Somewhere the pain has to stop.”

This Canadian Press report was first published on April 13, 2024.

Morgan Lowry, Canadian Press