As many of you are aware, my family spent 2005 and 2006 caring for my mother-in-law, Jean Sullivan, who was diagnosed with a rare form of Leukemia. Jean was a phenomenally courageous woman who fought her disease with bravery and dignity. Despite little understanding of her specific condition, the doctors at Dana Farber and Mass General worked with her aggressively and compassionately to give hope and to improve and extend her life. Jean's last year and a half was terribly difficult, but the efforts and talents of her caregivers, gave her and our family a wonderfully rich year of very fond memories of Jean and our time with her. Jean died in October 2006.
Over that period I was astonished at the number of other cases of cancer that touched our lives: an aunt, an uncle, a neighbor's daughter, a close friend. Like Jean, all of them seemingly healthy until diagnosed. Many are survivors, some have since passed. After that difficult two years and in honor of Jean, I felt I needed to involve myself in some way to give back and contribute to the cause for finding treatments. So in August 2007 I entered my first PMC. What an Experience!
I unexpectedly ran into a couple of friends from high school who are experienced riders and we ended up completing the 192 miles averaging just over 20.5 mph, much faster than I anticipated. I owe a great deal of thanks to those friends and a cast of other cycling teams who we teamed up with and enabled me to finish with a grin rather than a grimace.
I had heard a lot about the Pan Mass Challenge from other riders, but being a part of it was incredible. There were so many aspects that were memorable.
The 3,500 other riders at the starting line, each with their own story about how cancer has impacted their life, including the 375 riders who were cancer survivors, and the one man who rode the entire route on one leg, having lost the other to cancer (don't get me started with this guys sense of courage) The incredible generosity of everyone involved in the event, with their time, their money and their commitment ( in that the 28th year of the event, the PMC raised over $27 million). Now the PMC is raising almost $60 million annually. The inspiration of Billy Starr, who founded and who has been the steward and leader of the event for 28 years.
The numerous friends along the way, new friends made and several old friends found.
The incredible organization by the PMC and the now 4,000 volunteers who seamlessly moved 7,000 cyclists along 192 miles, fed, cared for, housed and entertained them all with incredible enthusiasm and efficiency.
The great ride, and a seemingly endless number of supporters cheering us on.
What struck me most about the ride were the thousands of people who sat by the roadside to cheer us on. To my surprise they didn't say, keep going or go, go, go. They all said Thank you. Thank you for saving my mom's life. Thank you for helping my child survive another year. Thank you for helping support the research for Gleevac, a breakthrough drug developed by Dana Farber in the fight against Leukemia. As much as the PMC was about a bunch of A-types trying to compete with themselves and their fellow riders, it was an incredibly giving atmosphere of real appreciation: the riders for the volunteers and crowds, and the crowds and volunteers for the riders. Needless to say, I was hooked.
In that inaugural ride my friends and colleagues helped me raise over $50,000 to fight cancer. In my second year, I was joined by 5 friends and together we raised over $75,000. Over the last 13 years, I have been joined by a dozen friends to form the Spin and Tonics (our pmc cycling group) and we raised have raised over $1.5 milliion. This year the Spin and Tonics will ride their own route as the PMC has gone virtual. We will miss the "real" PMC.
The PMC is a phenomenal event that has inspired me not just that one weekend per summer, but every day in between. It has been a source of new friends and new passions. To all our friends and colleagues who have supported us in our fundraising efforts, thank you. I fear that our family will be lifetime riders, so you will have to put up with our emails, our requests and our stories for years to come......
All the best,
Scott
