On the weekend of Aug.3 – Aug. 4, 6,500 cyclists, 55 being from Maine, participated in the 45th Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC), biking towards raising a record $75 million for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Two Gorham bikers, Dawn Mugford and Jason Maribito, participated.

Just a month after the challenge, PMC announced crossing the $1 Billion mark in fundraising for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute since 1980.

Cyclists from 10 countries and 45 states came together to ride between 25 and 211 miles with the mission to raise money and awareness for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Most participate in honor of a family member or friend battling cancer, and more than 1,100 riders and volunteers are survivors or currently fighting cancer. There were also 160 Dana-Farber employees participating as riders and volunteers, in some cases to fund personal cancer research projects.

PMC is the #3 top-grossing peer-to-peer fundraising organization in the country and donates 100% of every rider-raised dollar to Dana-Farber to support furthering cancer research and patient care. For over four decades PMC has supported Dana-Farber in achieving clinical breakthroughs and advancements in cancer research. In the last five years, Dana-Farber doctors and researchers have played a substantial role in developing more than half of all cancer drugs approved by the FDA.

To make a financial contribution to a rider from your town or to register as a rider yourself visit https:/www.pmc.org or call (800) WE-CYCLE.