By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
This August, Cazenovia residents Dr. Richard Cherny and Diane Sullivan will participate in the 40th Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) — an annual bike-a-thon that raises more money for charity than any other athletic fundraiser in the country.
The locals will join more than 6,700 riders who will cycle up to 192 miles on August 3 and 4 with the goal of raising $60 million for cancer research and patient care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) in Boston.
PMC cyclists from 43 states and 12 countries will meet up in Massachusetts, where they will choose one of 12 routes. The options, which pass through 47 towns and range from 25 to 192 miles in length, are designed to appeal to all levels of cycling and fundraising ability.
Ranging in age from 13 to 88, participants are required to raise between $600 and $8500.
Cherny plans to complete the 192-mile route from Sturbridge to Provincetown to raise $5000 for the institute.
A practicing hematologist/medical oncologist, he learned about the PMC from his friend Dr. Dan Wnorowski, a Syracuse orthopedic surgeon and avid cyclist. Cherny has since participated in five PMC fundraisers.
A self-described “weekend warrior” cyclist, Cherny has dedicated almost two months to training for the important event.
“I wanted to give back to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute,” said Cherny. “They are on the cutting-edge of cancer research and treatment. I refer patients there all the time for experimental treatments, consultations, second opinions, etc. . . . Cancer patients here in CNY directly and indirectly benefit from what goes on at the DFCI.”
One hundred percent of every rider-raised dollar is donated directly to DFCI through the “Jimmy Fund.” The PMC is the institute’s largest single contributor, accounting for more than 55 percent of the Jimmy Fund’s annual revenue.
“This is the best organized, most efficient and most successful fundraising event of its kind in the country,” said Cherny.
Since its initiation in 1980, the PMC has donated $654 million to DFCI. In 2018, the bike-a-thon raised a record $56 million.
The 2019 fundraising goal is $60 million. If the riders meet their target, Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne, a cancer survivor and PMC rider, will donate an additional $1 million to the cause.
The two-day event will include riders, thousands of volunteers, spectators, individual donors and corporate sponsors.
Over 950 PMC riders and volunteers are cancer survivors or current patients.
“The most inspiring part is seeing the cancer survivors riding and the thousands who line the route cheering all of us on, constantly thanking us for our efforts, [and] holding up posters of family members helped by DFCI over the years,” said Cherny. “[It] keeps you coming back.”
To make a financial contribution to the Cazenovia riders or become a virtual rider, visit pmc.org, or call (800) WE-CYCLE.
