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SWAMPSCOTT — Fifteen local cyclists joined roughly 6,000 riders from around the globe to raise approximately $50 million for cancer research and treatment at the Pan-Mass Challenge last weekend.
The Swampscott riders joined forces with cyclists from 44 states and six countries, including seven Peabody residents, to ride courses that range from 25 to 211 miles.
Since the two-day bike-a-thon’s inception in 1980, the Pan-Mass Challenge has raised $900 million for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for cancer research and patient-care programs.
For the 17th consecutive year, PMC donated 100% of every rider-raised dollar directly to Dana-Farber. The PMC stands as the institute’s largest single contributor, accounting for more than 60% of the Jimmy Fund’s annual revenue.
The 2022 PMC ride brought $69 million to Dana-Farber — a benchmark record for this year’s $70 million goal, PMC founder and Executive Director Billy Starr said. Although the 2023 ride brought in $50 million, Starr said fundraising will continue until October.
After a lull in rider turnout during the pandemic, Starr said participation is slowly growing back.
“We’re up about 10% year-to-date, and that bodes well to meeting our goal. Fundraising continues until the Oct. 1 deadline. We expect to make our goal and maybe exceed it,” Starr said. “We didn’t register as many (riders) as we did in 2019, but we’ve been growing back.”
The following Swampscott cyclists participated in the 2023 PMC:
Jeffry Brand
Donna Cohen
Tam Cronin
Ethan Forman
Joe Gold
William Goldenheim
Melissa Goldenheim
Barry Kraft
Ted Merritt
Matthew O’Neil
Robert Pickett
Kelly Puccia
Al Rose
Phil Rotner
Ben Rotner
Bob Selby
Lee Taylor
“It was just a wonderful weekend demonstrating what people are capable of when they work together for a common goal,” Starr said.
