Asia Magriby Ridess For Charity
MONTREAL - US Freeskiing Champion Asia Magriby is training on wheels this summer to join in a race for a universal cause - curing cancer. She will ride 192 miles over two days in the 24th annual Pan-Massachusetts Challenge (PMC) and speak at the event's opening ceremony in August.
While Magriby is currently ranked ninth in the World and was second in 2001 in North America for the International Free Skiing Association Extreme Skiing Tour, she is not a natural cyclist. In fact, she didn't even have a road bike until Trek Bikes became one of her PMC sponsors. She was scheduled to spend much of August skiing in Chile, not riding a bike across Massachusetts. Magriby is a host of "Dan Egan's Wild World of Winter" on NESN. But having lost her father, mother-in-law and a very close friend to cancer, all within the last few years, Magriby understands the importance of funding cancer research and treatment.
She is counting on her athletic strength, gained on the slopes of some of the largest mountains in North America, to help her bike from Sturbridge to Provincetown in the PMC. Along with Trek Bikes, Magriby's ski sponsors Oakley, Rossignol and Jay Peak Ski Resort have donated product and funds to her PMC campaign. She will join 3,800 cyclists from 40 states and six countries on August 2 and 3 when they ride to raise $16 million for cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber through its Jimmy Fund. If the cyclists meet their fundraising goal, they will pedal past $100 million contributed to the Jimmy Fund since the PMC's 1980 inception, crucial funds that are improving the quality of life for cancer patients around the world. The PMC is presented by the Boston Red Sox, a 50-year supporter of the Jimmy Fund.
"I have lost so many loved ones to cancer and am only 27 years old. I know I did everything I could to care for my father and mother-in-law while they were sick, but I have since felt a need to do something on a greater level to help people suffering with cancer," Magriby says. Magriby commuted from Williams College in Massachusetts to Florida and Rhode Island to care for her father for 11 months before he passed away. When her fiancé's mother was diagnosed with cancer three weeks before the couple's wedding, they brought her into their home and Mariby took on the role of caretaker once again. Magriby's mother-in-law passed away in November 2002, just 50 days after she was diagnosed.
>|§¬arning about Magriby's experiences with cancer, and her strong commitment to both athletics and her family, PMC Founder and Executive Director Billy Starr asked her to speak at the event's opening ceremony at the Sturbridge Host Hotel on August 1.
"Asia's spirit and strength of character will get her through the 192-mile ride," Starr says. "She is passionate about helping others and understands the reality of so many of our cyclists who will ride for loved ones currently fighting cancer." Nearly 170 cancer survivors will also be riding in the PMC this year. The ceremony will air live on New England Cable News and be brought into the homes of 2.7 million subscribers in the six New England states.
"I am honored to be riding on the PMC team this year, raising money for cancer research, and most importantly to have been asked to speak at the opening ceremony," Magriby says. "In many ways, I feel like my life experiences have led me to the PMC."
CONTACT: Jackie Herskovitz jackie@pmc.org 617-269-7171
About the PMC: The Pan-Massachusetts Challenge (PMC), presented by the Boston Red Sox, is the nation's original fundraising bike-a-thon and today raises more money than any other athletic fundraising event in the country. Since its inception in 1980, the PMC has been increasingly successful in mobilizing cyclists, volunteers, corporate sponsors and individual donors toward a common goal: a world free of cancer. The PMC is a model of efficiency for all nonprofit organizations, dedicating more than 92 cents of each dollar raised to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through its Jimmy Fund. To date, the PMC has contributed more than $86 million to lifesaving cancer care and research at Dana-Farber, and now generates 46 percent of the Jimmy Fund's annual revenue. Cyclists must raise between $1,500 and $2,500 to ride in the PMC, depending on their chosen route. The goal of PMC 2003 is to raise $16 million, bringing its 24-year contribution to more than $100 million - crucial funds that are making a difference in the lives of cancer patients around the world.
The Ride: The Pan-Massachusetts Challenge is a fully supported bike-a-thon which provides food and water stops, mechanical and medical assistance, luggage transportation and lodging through 46 towns across Massachusetts. Cyclists choose from six routes of varying mileage designed to cater to all levels of cycling strength and time availability. Two-day rides include the original 192-mile Sturbridge to Provincetown route; 186-mile Sturbridge-Bourne-Wellesley route; 169-mile Wellesley-Bourne-Provincetown route; or the 166-mile Wellesley-Bourne-Wellesley route. One-day riders cycle the 108-mile Sturbridge-Bourne, Mass., or the 89-mile Wellesley-Bourne routes.
When: PMC 2003 will begin on Friday, Aug. 1, with an opening ceremony that is televised live for a potential viewing audience of three million New Englanders on New England Cable News. The ride begins from Sturbridge and Wellesley starting lines on Saturday, Aug. 2, and ends on Sunday, Aug. 3 at finish lines in Wellesley and Provincetown.
Who: Nearly 3,800 cyclists from 40 U.S. states and six countries will ride in PMC 2003. More than 125 riders will be cancer survivors. Many PMC participants ride in honor of a family member or friend fighting the disease. Cyclists range in age from 15 to 81. The average PMC cyclist is 42 years old, trains for three months, solicits 37 sponsors and raises $4,400. During the PMC weekend, 1,900 volunteers will donate their time and nearly 200 corporations will provide in-kind products or service donations. In 2002, seven PMC cyclists and volunteers founded and additionally funded the $2.5 million Pan-Mass Challenge Senior Investigatorship at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. In November 2002, the position was awarded to Lee Nadler, MD, an avid PMC cyclist and the Senior Vice President of Experimental Medicine at DFCI.