Terry Fox 40th anniversary shoe sells out in minutes

UPDATE May 20, 7:25 a.m. PT: The limited edition shoe sold out within minutes Wednesday morning.

Remarkably, when the Terry Fox 40th anniversarycommemorative sneakers goon sale Wednesday morning,Fred Fox will be like thousands of others, hovering over his computer, credit card in hand, trying to score a pair of the sweet blue kicksamid what is sure to be a full-on buying frenzy.

It's not that Terry's older brother doesn't have the connections to bypass the madding crowd.He is, after all, a spokesman for the Terry Fox Foundation, which is receiving 100 per cent of the net proceeds.

It's just that the Fox family has always insistedthat every possible penny raised in Terry's name go to cancer research.

"It's just the way we've alwaysdone things. We we don't think we're any different or any more special than anybody else across the country," said Fox.

Before setting out on his Marathon of Hope in April of 1980, Terry Fox sent impassioned letters to shoe companies asking for support.

'Crawl every last mile'

"We need your help. The people in cancer clinics all over the world need people who believe in miracles," he wrote."The running I can do, even if I have to crawl every last mile."

Fox was hardly a household name when he sent the letter, the opposite really. A freckle faced 21-year-old amputee from Port Coquitlam, B.C.,cold calling businesses he hoped might help fund his cross country campaign for cancer research.

Adidas responded,sending 24pairs of their blue Orion running shoes andlaunching a relationship that has lasted to this day.

The 40th anniversary replica shoecomes with a copy of Terry's letter, shoelaces emblazoned with his quotes,and "Terry Fox" tastefully printed in gold above one of the signature Adidas stripes.

The sportswear giant is also releasinga limited edition T-shirt.The campaign is expected to raise $1 million for the Terry Fox Foundation.

In 2005, when Adidas released the 25thanniversary shoe atSport Chek, people lined up and cleaned out the stores in four hours.

'Probably crazy'

Fred Fox believes with online sales, the entire40th anniversary runwill be snapped up in minutes.

"I think it's going to be amazing and probably crazy.," he said.

"There's going to be afew disappointed people for sure and I'm going to be on there like everybody else trying to get myself a pair of shoes."

Terry Fox 40th anniversary sneakers retailfor $130 and are available in men's sizes only. T-shirts go for$40. Online sales open at 7 a.m. PT Wednesday.

Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope began April 12, 1980, in St. John's, Newfoundland.

Three years earlier, his right leg had been amputated above the knee after the discoveryof a malignant tumour.

Fox ran the equivalent of a marathon, 42 kilometres,every day for 143 days before discovering the cancer hadspread to his lungs. The Marathon of Hope ended Sept. 1, 1980 in Thunder Bay.

Terry Fox died in Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster on June 28, 1981, one month shy of his 23rd birthday.

To date, over $750 million has been raised in his name for cancer research.