By Lindsay Carey Staff Writer Two Southington residents will join 5,8000 cyclists in the Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC), a 190 mile bike ride that raises money for the Jimmy Fund to support adult and pediatric cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. The 35th annual bike-a-thon on August 2 and 3 has a goal of raising $40 million for the cause. The PMC has raised over $414 million since 1980. “The PMC is the gold standard of athletic fundraising events,” said Billy Starr, PMC founder and executive director, according to a press release. Bikers ranging from ages 13 to 90 will ride across 46 towns in Massachusetts making the ride no easy feat. In addition the rigorous ride, PMC cyclists must raise between $500 and $4,300 in order to participate and all of the proceeds go to the Jimmy Fund. Some riders participate because they are cancer survivors, while some may have lost a loved one to cancer and want to support a good cause. Jimmy DeFau, from Marion, is one of those people. DeFau began cycling in 2012 when a friend of his who had cancer asked him to ride another charity bike-a-thon as a part of her [...]
By Lindsay Carey Staff Writer Two Southington residents will join 5,8000 cyclists in the Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC), a 190 mile bike ride that raises money for the Jimmy Fund to support adult and pediatric cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. The 35th annual bike-a-thon on August 2 and 3 has a goal of raising $40 million for the cause. The PMC has raised over $414 million since 1980. “The PMC is the gold standard of athletic fundraising events,” said Billy Starr, PMC founder and executive director, according to a press release. Bikers ranging from ages 13 to 90 will ride across 46 towns in Massachusetts making the ride no easy feat. In addition the rigorous ride, PMC cyclists must raise between $500 and $4,300 in order to participate and all of the proceeds go to the Jimmy Fund. Some riders participate because they are cancer survivors, while some may have lost a loved one to cancer and want to support a good cause. Jimmy DeFau, from Marion, is one of those people. DeFau began cycling in 2012 when a friend of his who had cancer asked him to ride another charity bike-a-thon as a part of her [...]