Mary Byrne
More than 40 Belmont residents plan to join hundreds of others cycling across Massachusetts this summer as part of the 45th annual Pan Mass Challenge.
“Every year, it’s a continually inspiring event because there are a lot of people who were, are still, and who will be affected by cancer,” said Cristiano Bonino, who has been riding in the event for more than a decade. “It’s inspiring for me to see people who are still fighting and still riding.”
Run during the first week in August, the Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) is a bike-a-thon encompassing 16 routes spanning 25 to 211 miles. Money raised by riders goes directly to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to fund cancer research, treatment, and patient care. Registration fees cover administrative and operating costs.
Cyclists represent six countries and 44 states, territories, and districts. According to the PMC website, roughly 3,500 volunteers support more than 6,800 riders along the course each year.
This year, the event hopes to raise $75 million, pushing it over the $1 billion mark in its 45-year history.
“Thanks to the fierce determination of PMC riders, volunteers, donors, and sponsors, I’m confident that this will be our biggest fundraising year yet,” Billy Starr, founder and executive director of the PMC, said in a statement. “We’re well positioned to cross $1 billion in total donations for cancer research and treatment since I founded the PMC in 1980 — I am looking forward to cycling alongside everyone on the road in August as we hit this momentous achievement together.”
Bonino, 54, first learned about the event after meeting Starr during a bike tour in Italy. Bonino, who grew up in Italy, manages a tour operator that provides “active vacations” throughout Italy and the Mediterranean. In 2011, Bonino moved to the United States, where he reconnected with Starr and participated in his first Pan-Mass Challenge in 2012.
“The idea that … every single cent we raise is basically given to Dana Farber, it’s quite amazing,” he said.
Bonino, a longtime cyclist, said his father died of colon cancer at the age of 58. And about five years ago, Bonino had a malignant melanoma removed from his calf.
“I’m really excited because I ride daily, but it’s something that makes me even prouder,” Bonino said.
Bonino isn’t the only rider whose life has been directly affected by cancer. Belmont resident Joe Basile’s first ride was 10 years ago, after his wife, Maureen, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.
“I felt like I had to do something and not just watch,” he said. “I did Pan Mass to kind of heal, [and] engage in my wife’s challenge.”
In the last decade, Maureen has benefited from a stream of new therapies, keeping her cancer at bay. As of this year, her myeloma – the cancer for which Basile is dedicating the funds he raises — is undetectable.
“The importance of the event for Dana Farber is incredible,” Basile said. “It’s a pretty moving feeling to be part of the event.”
Belmont resident Anna Doherty, who just graduated from Loyola Marymount University in California, echoed a similar sentiment.
“You’re surrounded by thousands of people who each have someone they’re doing it for,” Doherty said. “It just makes you feel really good.”
For Doherty, those people include her grandmother and grandfather, both of whom died in 2020; her first swim coach; and a high school classmate who died at 16 after being diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma.
“Those are my main motivators,” Doherty said. “Those are the main people I’m thinking about.”
A Division 1 swimmer at Loyola, Doherty completed her first PMC in 2022 as a way to train for something other than swimming.
“I’ve just absolutely loved the experience and the day itself,” she said. “The weekend. Everything. I just wanted to keep doing it every year.”
In just a few years, Doherty has raised close to $15,000.
“There are people who have been doing it for decades,” she said. “I can only imagine how much they’ve been able to raise in those years.”
Jeff Levin-Sherz, who has ridden for 27 consecutive years, is among those loyal alumni. When he first participated in 1998, he thought it would simply be a “call back” to his adolescence.
“I learned it was much more meaningful than I ever expected it to be,” he recalled.
For the fourth year in a row, Levin-Sherz will ride on the Okip Onkoloji team, which raises funds for the Center for Global Cancer Medicine at Dana-Farber.
“These kinds of athletic events, they raise money; that’s most important,” Levin-Sherz said. “But they also raise awareness and attention. They create a set of advocates who are going to care about this, not just for two days. … They care about this year-round, and I think that’s really important.”
To search for a rider’s fundraising page, visit profile.pmc.org or go to pmc.org by July 1 to register to ride.