Lexington Bikers in Pan-Mass Challenge fund Cancer Studies

From August 2nd to August 3rd, 73 riders from Lexington will join more than 6,800 cyclists in the 46th annual Pan-Mass Challenge, where participants bike around Massachusetts for two days in order to raise donations for cancer studies. This year’s goal is to raise $76 million, an ambitious endeavor.

The Pan-Mass Challenge is tried by a lot of people, some even famous to a degree. Participants include Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Kennealy, who has participated in the PMC for nearly 20 years. Kennealy says he does it with his wife, “in honor of a friend of our then 5-year-old daughter, who thankfully survived pediatric cancer.”

Another person who feels a close connection to the event is Joe Petner, who bikes for Team POW (Petner Ortiz Watts). He says he got involved because of his daughter. “I got involved initially back in 1995 when my younger daughter, Caroline, was being treated for a rare blood disease, aplastic anemia,” he says. Furthermore, he himself has survived prostate cancer, and his late wife Jody was also a breast cancer survivor. These experiences have deepened the connection he feels with the Pan-Mass Challenge.

He also says that it’s rousing to know that his participation is helping another family, and he knows well how it feels to have a child diagnosed with cancer, because he lived through the uncertainty of his child’s diagnosis. “To have your child diagnosed with cancer is your worst nightmare,” he says.

Kennealy is devoted to the Pan-Mass Challenge because he believes in its mission, and that the event’s impact is monumental. Kennealy says, “The results are real and the impact on cancer research has been tremendous,”.

The true purpose behind the Pan-Mass Challenge is intertwined throughout its structure. Like when bikers come to a rest stop, they will see posters of children, which remind them of why they ride.

The Pan-Mass Challenge was founded in 1980 by Billy Starr, and has raised over $1 billion for Dana-Farber, marking a major milestone last year. Petner attributes most of that success to Starr’s vision and authority, saying that, “Starr is one of my heroes because of his genius in terms of just doing something on this scale. He has grown the event and given people more opportunities to participate,”.

Petner thinks the Pan-Mass Challenge is a great event that ordinary people, not just elite athletes, may participate in, which he thinks is one of the biggest beauties of the event. He says, “You do not have to be a professional athlete to make a difference, you just have to show up and ride.”