The Pan Mass Challenge rides this weekend; funds raised go to support the Dana Farber Institute.
Read about one special team riding this weekend, the Bike HERoes:
In 2009, the Bike HERoes hit the road to raise money for cancer research by riding the PMC which benefits Dana Farber. The original team was Traci, Heather, and Trish – friends that worked together at J&J. For the many years we have been friends, we’ve run our careers, households, husbands, children, schoolwork and of course the occasional 5k. After close colleagues, friends and family were diagnosed with cancer – some losing their battles far too quickly, we decided we needed to take action. However, just weeks before the ride, Traci ran into some bad luck of her own – ovarian cancer.
Originally the surgery and cancer treatments left Traci too weak to run, so she got on her bike to ride. She set out to ride one block, but once on the road she felt pretty good and before she knew it, she was flying down the bike path near her house. People were annoyed and shouting for her to slow down! She felt totally free – a person without disease. Her recovery started from there and she was able to ride the 2009 PMC with energy to spare. Although she never really got rid of the cancer, Traci was able to get back into her routine of working and running daily. Two years later – years she credits to her care at the Dana Farber – she has reached the end of her journey. Instead of hoping she’ll be able to ride with us, we’re now praying that she’ll go quietly, quickly and willingly into her next adventure.
As Traci had noted, “Even though my motivation is different this year, it is equally powerful. I want to allow myself a chance to get on the ride that can certainly feel like a roller coaster. It is time for this so I can have some peace and comfort. I also need to make room for someone else to participate at no charge the way I have been able to, receiving treatments and tests entirely without charges. That’s the reason for this year’s significant change, and I sure hope that you will find it in your heart to support those coming right up behind me and in desperate need of the same resources at Dana Farber that I’ve been hoarding for so long now. New riders, new patients. Please don’t give up on us now at our most difficult transition yet.”
While we manage through Traci’s transition, we also welcome a couple “hims” to our team. Mark, Craig and Harrison will round out the team that hits the road on August 6th to ride from Wellesley to Bourne with the hopes of raising a ton of money to contribute to the fight against cancer as well as to honor our friend Traci. The PMC is the largest fundraising event in the country and every dollar we raise will go going directly to the Dana Farber – no admin fees here. We’re grateful for all the support we continue to receive – emotional, spiritual and financial.
If you’d like to learn more, please click on the links to our PMC page and our Facebook page.