Several Union Co. Residents Will Ride In Pan-Mass Challenge

UNION COUNTY, NJ — Several Union County cyclists are taking on the Pan-Mass Challenge next week — a bike-a-thon with one and two-day routes from 25 to 2010 miles, all with the goal of raising money for cancer research.

The PMC will take place on Aug. 6 and 7 with more than 6,000 riders, including 43 riders from New Jersey. A total of seven riders are from Union County.

The bike-a-thon is the nation's single most successful athletic fundraiser, donating 100 percent of every rider-raised dollar to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Last year's event raised $66 million for cancer research.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, the PMC has raised more than $114 million for Dana-Farber, bringing its 42-year contribution to Dana-Farber to $831 million.

“We’re coming off of a record-breaking fundraising year for Dana-Farber, and we’re thrilled to be ‘back in the saddle’ this summer, bringing our PMC community together for our first traditional PMC weekend since 2019 with our sights set on making an even bigger impact in the fight against cancer,” said Billy Starr, founder and executive director of the PMC.

“We are so inspired by the dedication of our riders, volunteers, donors, sponsors and community members throughout the last two challenging years and can’t wait to see everyone on the road this August for the 43rd PMC,” Starr said.

PMC 2022 will include 16 routes — from 25 to 210 miles — designed to cater to all levels of cycling and fundraising ability.

Most participate in honor of a family member or friend fighting cancer and more than 800 riders and volunteers are cancer survivors or current patients.

More than 150 Dana-Farber employees are committed to the cause as riders and volunteers as well, in some cases to fund their own cancer research.

The race takes places in Needham, Massachusetts. Here are the riders coming from Union County:

New Providence (1)

• Carl Bagish

Scotch Plains (1)

• James Chitty

Summit (4)

• Fiona Bowen
• Michael Cornell
• Caitlin Stabler
• Terry Thompson

Westfield (1)

• Stephen Aronson

You can learn more about the PMC on its website.

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