Winter 2025
By Michael Quinn
Photography by Pan-Mass Challenge
The Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC), a bike-a-thon that raises more money for charity than any other single athletic fundraising event in the world, has built an unparalleled track record for success strengthened by touchstone traditions and continuous improvements in pursuit of the goal of defying cancer.
Anchored in its storied past and animated by its hopeful future, the PMC made a record-breaking gift of $78 million to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, bringing the organization’s cumulative total to an astounding $1.125 billion raised since 1980. Powering this milestone contribution was the 46th annual PMC ride on Aug. 2-3, when 6,500 riders from 12 countries and 47 states pedaled 14 routes across Massachusetts. They were aided by 3,500 volunteers and 200 corporate sponsors, whose support ensured that 100% of every rider-raised dollar went directly to cancer research and care at Dana-Farber for the 19th consecutive year. 1,100 riders and volunteers were cancer survivors or current patients, considered Living Proof® of the PMC mission. Additionally, 160 Dana-Farber employees volunteered or rode, in some cases to fundraise for their own cancer research.
As Dana-Farber’s largest single contributor, representing 67% of the Jimmy Fund’s annual revenue, the PMC drives everything at Dana-Farber, accelerating breakthrough research to maximize innovation and progress while elevating essential care programs that support patients from diagnosis through survivorship. According to Benjamin L. Ebert, MD, PhD, President and CEO at Dana-Farber and the Richard and Susan Smith Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, the PMC’s effect on Dana-Farber and its work is palpable and powerful. “Each day, we witness the profound impact of PMC funding,” he said, “We see it in new lifesaving treatments, in the determination of our researchers to make transformative discoveries, and in the ever-improving outcomes of our patients.”
“We ride to ensure that hope is never extinguished.”
Billy Starr, founder and chairman of the PMC, and Dana-Farber Trustee
A seven-year PMC rider, Ebert began his two-day trek at the Sturbridge Host Hotel, as have thousands of participants since 1981. 2025 marked Sturbridge’s final year as the PMC’s central Massachusetts starting line, which will move to the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester in 2026 to accommodate more participants, promote further growth, and provide more accessible and modern facilities. Susan Brogan, longtime Sturbridge coordinator with Matt McGuiness, reflected on the town’s indelible place in PMC history and Worcester’s potential to further elevate the ride. “Sturbridge really embraced the PMC, and what started here has impacted cancer worldwide,” said Brogan. “Our aim is to keep the needle moving forward, and Worcester provides an ideal opportunity for that.”
Billy Starr, founder and chairman of the PMC and a Dana-Farber Trustee, celebrated Sturbridge as “a cherished chapter in the PMC story” and underscored the importance of everyone’s continued commitment amid economic uncertainty and unprecedented cuts in federal research funding. “When others pull back this community accelerates,” Starr said. “We ride not just to raise money, but to support breakthroughs, ensure that hope is never extinguished, and make absolutely certain that nothing stands in the way of the cures we aspire to fund together.”