DANVERS — When it comes to the battle against cancer, the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge is without peer. The annual bike race, now in its 29th year, generates 50 percent of the Jimmy Fund's annual revenue and is the nation's most successful athletic fundraiser.
In 2007, it raised $33 million, all going to the Jimmy Fund and the fight against cancer.
But tackling the two-day fundraiser (Aug. 2 and 3) — and its 192-mile, Sturbridge-to-Provincetown route — takes months of preparation before the actual race weekend.
And while the riders raise all the money, it is the volunteers who make sure the more than 5,500 expected riders complete the 190-mile trek unscathed. An expected 2,600 volunteers, including 55 from the North Shore, will be working the Pan-Mass Challenge this year.
"Most of the people who volunteer are cancer survivors," volunteer Fran King said. "And a lot of volunteers do it in memory of a family member who has passed away. So we felt that it was a way we could help."
King, 51, and her husband, Henry, 57, of Danvers, will be volunteering for their fourth year. They will be heading to Wareham in southeast Massachusetts to work at a water stop on Sunday.
They spent their first year of volunteering preparing the riders' Sunday morning breakfast, and the two years after that at Mass Maritime, the overnight rest stop for the riders.
Cancer has had a profound affect on the Kings' lives. Fran just celebrated her 10th anniversary of being cancer-free after a winning battle with leukemia. She was treated at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
The couple decided to get involved with the Pan-Mass after two friends started to ride in it.
"You are just so grateful because, for that weekend, you don't really care what's going on in the rest of the world," Fran King said. "I guess it's the camaraderie, really. Everyone is everyone else's best friend."
Gerald Escott, 71, of Salem will be volunteering for his eighth straight Pan-Mass. He will spend Saturday at Mass Maritime and Sunday at the Provincetown Family Finish tent.
Escott became involved with the Pan-Mass thanks to strong relationships he developed at his fraternity at Northeastern University.
A fraternity brother's wife lost her battle with cancer 18 years ago. David Palan, the son of another fraternity brother, was very close to the couple. In honor of the wife's death, Palan started to ride in the Pan-Mass. Eight years ago, his father, Sherman, decided he too would ride in the Pan-Mass, and that is when Escott decided to get involved.
"You can see the pride they all have when they come in," Escott said.
Unlike the Kings, however, Escott has not changed his choice of how he volunteers. Every year he has requested to work with food, whether it is serving or preparing it.
"My part is so little, just to support all those heroes, who do this unbelievable endurance test," Escott said.
Both the Kings and Escott, along with the thousands of other volunteers, have different reasons why they got involved with the Pan-Mass. But they all give the same reason for why they come back every year.
"I had more fun, just being with people, seeing everyone excited and hearing some of those stories," Escott said. "You're doing it for others, but you end up doing it for yourself. You come away a lot richer."
Fran King could not agree more.
"The bottom line is that you wait patiently and anxiously to see how much that check is going to be for," she said. "You are just amazed every year."
Who's riding?
From Beverly: William Abbott, 52; Tina Ambrose, 44; Marc Bello, 36; Michael Bernfeld, 45; Scott Bowen, 44; Mary Campagnolo, 44; Gregory Chagnon, 29; Jill Chalifour, 30; Barney Corning, 45; Laurie Curtin, 41; Judy DiRubio, 55; Kathryn Downey, 35; Tom Durkin, 40; Parker Harrison, 55; Mark Helman, 39; Harry Ingram, 21; Susanne Kuhl, 38; Joe Leone, 50; Dan Lund, 33; Michael Magliaro, 61; Terri Martel, 40; Martha Rice Martini, 61; William Mead, 54; Bart Oliver, 47; Mike Pelletrino, 33; Paula Renzi Gibbs, 36; Neil Stanton, 49; Charlie Thomas, 52; George Thompson, 46; and Todd Wolfe, age unavailable.
From Boxford: Dana Dockery, 39; Timothy Feeney, 43; Katrina Froio-Mazzie, 38; Sue Hayden, 45; Mark Houston, 47; Eric Lundquist, 21; Mike Maguire, 55; Mark Malatesta, 42; Susan Malatesta, 44; Lorraine Ott, 52; Greg Pellegrino, 42; Darlene Prinz, 37; Joseph Saxe, 55; Scott Stone, 47; Steve Wendel, 46; and Claudia Worth, 53.
From Danvers: Ralph Ardiff, 67; Daniel Barber, 34; Matthew Bergeron, 27; Scott Ferris, 50; Donald Gates, 61; Edward Hardiman, 38; Leonard Ortins, 54; John Skerritt, 54; Kelley Thibodeau, 33; Sharon Thomas, 42; and Lawrence Tormey, 77.
From Hamilton: David Becker, 43; Theresa Becker, 43; Daniel Bukkhegyi, 41; Robert Clark, 65; Rufus Clark, 43; Chris Davis, 53; Brian Enge, 37; Katherine Graves, 21; Michelle Horgan, 41; Kevin Howley, 41; Josephine Johnson, 49; Thomas Kelly, 35; Scott Marshall, 43; Philip Murphy, 49; Mark Nicoll, 49; Mark Ostrowski, 32; Peter Richardson, 52; David Rowse, 39; Ed Walsh, 48; and Mary Walsh, 53.
From Ipswich: Sheila Burke, 48; Chandler Delinks, 31; Chris Doktor, 48; Robert Donahue, 36; Bill Gram, 49; Mark Hardie, 48; Deborah Logan, 45; Charlotte Marsh, 42; Christopher Parker, 40; Matt Perakis, 43; Paul Slack, 53; Bill Stone, 47; and Daniel Welch, 44.
From Manchester: Lexanne Abbott, 50; Patty Brennan, 42; Don Brophy, 44; Samuel Byrne, 43; Freddy Cicerchia, 55; Karen Clark, 41; Todd Clark, 42; Christopher Collins, 52; Terry Cowman, 55; Philip Johnson, 40; Linda Kaplan, 47; Daniel Kramer, 45; Thomas Landers, 47; Michael Marino, 44; Robert Norton, 58; PJ O'Clair, 47; Tricia Porter, 43; Dianne Savastano, 49; Kurt Svetaka, 49; Deborah Timmer, 43; Jurrien Timmer, 46; and Alan Wilson, 61.
From Marblehead: John Bonner, 51; Jeffry Brand, 62; Sheldon Brown, 75; Jeffrey Calmus, 48; James Clifford, 40; Eric Cole, 45; Hill Danforth, 51; Dan Doherty, 43; Caroline Doughty, 49; Mark Forziati, 51; James Garaventi, 45; James Gilroy, 50; Kathy Hempel, 49; Jackie Herskovitz, 41; Christopher Hunter, 37; Moira James, 51; Scott James, 20; David Johnston, 53; William Kane, 38; Jonathan Kfoury, 32; Louis Mayle, 41; Shawn McEachern, 39; Mike Meehan, 67; Alec Melnick, 48; Mark Meyer, 56; Bill Mishkin, 54; Chris Morrissey, 53; Howard Needel, 42; Kristin O'neil-Callahan, 37; Jim Ponsetto, 45; Eric Schwarzenbach, 17; Peter Schwarzenbach, 53; Rick Settelmeyer, 66; James Shay, 48; Michael Strong, 45; Debbie Waugh, 52; and Marc White, 51.
From Middleton: Steven Kalman, 40; Christopher Karras, 39; and Timothy Mortellite, 40.
From Peabody: John Bobrek, 23; Andrew Brown, 14; Thomas Brown, 49; Carol Cormier, 49; Susan Gilfix, 51; Derek Jones, 34; Mark Nalbandian, 34; Anne O'Shea, 43; Paul Potash, 48; Nathan Thomas, 43; and Anthony Valletti, 47.
From Salem: Kasey-Jean Beauvais, 29; Matthew Caruso, 50; Sue Denis, 43; Steve Disick, 48; Graham Gardner, 21; Steven Gardner, 59; David Henry, 52; John Keenan, 43; Jennifer Peat, 55; Stacey Rideout, 28; Heather Walker, 37; Stephen Walker, 37; and Sam Zoll, 73.
From Swampscott: Bill Cantor, 84; Alexander Carew, 35; Tammy Cronin, 43; Corey Dahlstedt, 37; Michael Dale, 46; Robert DeMartini, 46; Janet Fischer, 46; Ethan Forman, 42; Arthur Freedman, 58; Adam Goldman, 23; Scott Kafker, 49; Barry Kraft, 56; Pat Krippendorf, 42; Natasha Medwedeff, 43; Ted Merritt, 55; Jim Moineau, 47; Charles Moniz, 34; Alexander Reichert, 18; Alfred Rose, 50; Philip Rotner, 44; Bob Selby, 59; John Vogel, 42; James Walsh, 47; Andrew Whitman, 48; Maureen Yasi, 47; Molly Yasi, 16; Paul Yasi, 48; Paul Yasi Jr, 18; and Benjamin Yellin, 52.
From Topsfield: Norman Banville, 47; Jim Corbett, 57; Scott Dow, 48; Diana Lannon, 53; Jody Latimer, 45; Daniel McIlvaine, 18; Dolly McIlvaine, 48; and Alan Rosenbaum, 41.
From Wenham: Tom Crawford, 42, 51; Amy Dolan, 36; Alan Evans, 49; Caroline Kenerson, 21; Paul Kenerson, 56; Robert Knowles, 46; Peter Locke, 51; Kevin O'Shea, 39; Kelli Petri, 38; Moira Riccio, 41; Emily Thorne, 42; Joseph Trustey, 45; Amy Waterman, 34; and Robert Worsfold, 43.
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