Dear Family and Friends,

I am excited to ride in the Pan Mass for my second year this August (2nd and 3rd). It was an amazing experience last year and feel grateful to be on amazing team and fundraising for such an important cause.

As a young boy, I remember seeing the Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) go through the Cape along Route 6A in Dennis. I was awestruck by the volume of riders and inspired by their dedication and mission to raise money to find a cure for cancer. I told myself as I got older that “someday” I wanted to join the ride.

Fast forward 25 years and “someday” has arrived. I’m honored and excited to be riding in my second Pan-Mass Challenge on August 2nd and 3rd. I will ride 162 miles from Wellesley to Provincetown as a member of Team PopSciCycles.

Witnessing my grandmother Renie battle cancer prior to her death and having other family members along with close friends impacted by cancer, I could not think of a more meaningful way to show support for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The PMC raises more money for charity than any other single athletic fundraising event. 100% of the rider-raised funds go directly to support the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber's tireless commitment to find a cure for cancer.

Unfortunately, cancer touches so many and I hope my ride raises more awareness of all the good work that Dana-Farber does each and every day - and the lives that they change. While I know there are many things we cannot control in life, riding the PMC is one thing that I can do to contribute to the quest for a cure. I hope my ride can serve as a tribute to anyone in your life that may have been impacted by cancer.

I will ride the PMC for my grandmother Renie, our Pedal Partner Ellie and many others. If you would like to share the name of a person you know who had cancer or is battling cancer, I will put their name on my jersey.

I hope this can be the year that a cure for cancer is discovered and thank you in advance for your support.

Let's go,

Mark

About Team PopSciCycles

Our team rides for the McGraw/Patterson Division of Population Sciences because their research and program work impact so many critical areas in the never-ending battle with cancer - including the detection and prevention of many types of cancer, care practices and delivery models, and methods to communicate important discoveries to diverse, at-risk populations.

Please go to our Team Profile Page to read more about the McGraw/Patterson Division of Population Sciences.

About our PMC Pedal Partner

Team PopSciCycles Pedal Partner is 11 year old Ellie, who is a patient at The Jimmy Fund Clinic. Ellie was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia B-Cell and is currently in remission.

Team PopSciCycles has been matched with Ellie in years past and is so inspired by her and her family. We will ride for all of them on PMC weekend.