Bryan Adams has written a new song about Terry Fox’s 1980 Marathon of Hope, with The Ballad Of Terry Fox featured in Sean Menard’s documentary Run Terry Run.
by Paul Cashmere
Bryan Adams has released The Ballad Of Terry Fox, a new song written for Sean Menard’s documentary Run Terry Run, which revisits Terry Fox’s 1980 attempt to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research. The song was released on August 27, 2026, alongside a music video directed by Menard. Run Terry Run is scheduled for wider release on October 9, 2026, following its 2026 Toronto International Film Festival screening. The song is also expected to feature on Adams’ forthcoming album How’s It Goin’.
The Ballad Of Terry Fox takes the form of a narrative about Fox’s Marathon of Hope, rather than a general tribute. Adams’ lyrics follow the physical reality of Fox’s run, his prosthetic leg, the distances he covered each day, the crowds who gathered along the roads and the eventual point near Thunder Bay where illness forced him to stop.
The song’s central idea is that Fox’s achievement was never measured by reaching a geographical finish line. Adams frames the journey as a mission undertaken for other people, with the repeated chorus returning to the distance Fox was attempting to cover and the determination required to continue.
That focus reflects the story of Terry Fox, who was 21 when he began the Marathon of Hope in St. John’s, Newfoundland, on April 12, 1980. Having lost his right leg to osteogenic sarcoma, Fox ran with a prosthetic limb in an attempt to cross Canada and raise money for cancer research.
Adams was 20 and touring Canada in small clubs when Fox began his run. He has recalled watching the story unfold at the time, including Fox’s decision to stop near Thunder Bay on September 1, 1980. Adams said Fox gave Canadians “something” and “someone” around which they could unite, and described himself as proud to be part of Menard’s film and of Fox’s legacy.
The lyrics deliberately follow the chronology of Fox’s journey. They describe the solitary nature of the run, the physical demands of covering approximately a marathon each day and the growing public response as Fox moved through Canada. The final section shifts from the failed attempt to complete the route to the continuing significance of the Marathon of Hope, presenting Fox’s unfinished run as the beginning of a much larger legacy.
The song therefore functions as a musical companion to Run Terry Run, a feature-length documentary built around previously unseen material from Fox’s 1980 campaign. Menard’s film uses 96 reels of archival footage shot by filmmaker John Simpson, together with previously unheard audio, much of which remained untouched for 45 years before being recovered. The approach is designed to place viewers inside Fox’s journey rather than reconstruct it through conventional interviews.
Run Terry Run concentrates on the human experience behind one of Canada’s best-known sporting and fundraising stories. Fox’s original objective was to raise money and awareness for cancer research by running across the country. He was forced to abandon the run after cancer spread to his lungs, but the Marathon of Hope developed into an enduring fundraising legacy through the Terry Fox Foundation.
Menard’s documentary has already had an advance screening history, including a November 2025 presentation at Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra performing the score live. The film is now scheduled for a 2026 TIFF presentation before its October 9 theatrical release.
For Adams, the project adds another specifically Canadian subject to his 2026 output. The Ballad Of Terry Fox follows his July single 51st State and comes as the singer prepares for the next stage of his international Roll With The Punches campaign. The new Terry Fox recording is officially titled The Ballad Of Terry Fox, rather than Run Terry Run, which is the title of Menard’s film. Streaming services list the song as a 2026 single released on August 27.
Adams will return to Australia and New Zealand in February and March 2027 for the Roll With The Punches arena tour, with Natalie Imbruglia joining the dates. The tour currently includes two Melbourne performances, with the first Rod Laver Arena show sold out and a second date added.
The Australian and New Zealand run will begin in Perth on February 23 and conclude in Christchurch on March 12. The dates follow Adams’ previous Australian and New Zealand tour in early 2025.
Tour Dates
Tuesday 23 February 2027, Perth, RAC Arena
Friday 26 February 2027, Sydney, Afterpay Arena
Monday 1 March 2027, Brisbane, Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Thursday 4 March 2027, Adelaide, Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Friday 5 March 2027, Melbourne, Rod Laver Arena
Sunday 7 March 2027, Melbourne, Rod Laver Arena
Wednesday 10 March 2027, Auckland, Spark Arena
Friday 12 March 2027, Christchurch, Wolfbrook Arena
Ticket Details
Tickets are on sale now through authorised ticketing agencies. Natalie Imbruglia is the special guest on the Australian and New Zealand dates.
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