FOXBORO – Thousands of cyclists completed their ride in the 45th annual Pan-Mass Challenge Sunday, enduring brutal heat and pouring rain to raise money for cancer research at Dana Farber.

Honoring lives impacted by cancer

“Today’s just the single best day of the year,” said cancer survivor Stacey Valhouli.

Cyclists hit the pavement on day two of the Pan-Mass Challenge, an act of love for those impacted by cancer. Cyclist Allison Wang rode for her father, who passed away from cancer.

“It’s kind of like I’m biking with him again,” said Wang. “It was my dad’s dream to ride the PMC and he passed away in 2022 of cancer, so I decided to ride it in his honor.”

Wang joined cyclists from all over the world on day two, riding from Sturbridge to Provincetown, all to support cancer research. Every dollar raised goes to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. That’s where Ruby Cohen-Weinberg was treated and she’s now a living proof rider.

“It’s amazing. The cancer that I had is the most common type of brain cancer in pediatrics and so doctors knew exactly what to do,” said Cohen-Weinberg. “But that’s not the case for a lot of kids and people, so they need to keep researching.”

Raised $1 billion since 1980

The PMC raises more money for charity than any other single athletic fundraising event in the country. Since 1980, the PMC has raised $1 billioin.

“We’ve all had family members and friends that have died from cancer,” said Valhouli, who had a team raise $250,000 in her honor this year. “And I think that for those of us lucky enough to survive and for those of us that have all been impacted, what else would we do today?”

Among the riders this year was WBZ-TV’s Lisa Hughes, who rode in her 14th PMC. 

“My favorite part is riding with my friends, three of whom are breast cancer survivors,” said Hughes. “It’s so life-affirming and it feels so good to be part of something that is so positive.”

WBZ-TV is the official media partner of the Pan Mass Challenge.