Pan-Mass Challenge · August 1–2, 2026

Thank you.

Two days, father/daughter, Wellesley to Provincetown — every rider-raised dollar going to cancer research and care at Dana-Farber.

Thank you
Jack and Kayla holding their bikes overhead at the Provincetown finish
Made it. Provincetown, Sunday.

Thank you. To everyone who donated, cheered, texted, and asked how it went — this ride belongs to you as much as to us.

We rolled out of Newton at 5:30 Saturday morning and rode the 4.5 miles to the Wellesley start rather than get dropped off. Day 1 is officially 86 miles to Bourne — with the ride to the start, we were 9.5 short of a century. So just after crossing the finish line we headed back out along the Cape Cod Canal to pick them up, then checked in at Mass Maritime Academy for the night with 100 miles on the Garmin.

Day 2 started at 4am, waking up on mats in the Mass Maritime Academy library, and we were climbing over the Bourne Bridge by 5:30 as the sun came up. Grandparents Joe and Ginny met us at the first rest stop at 7am. One mile from the finish in Provincetown, we pulled over to group up with 100+ FLAMES riders and rolled in two-by-two, led by the team's Living Proof members — teammates who have faced cancer themselves. That's the video below. Then the ferry home across the bay.

The weekend

At the Pan-Mass Challenge Wellesley / Babson College start banner
Wellesley, the night before.
Jack and Kayla in PMC jerseys before the start
Ready to roll at 5:30am on Saturday in Newton.
Dana-Farber FLAMES teammates and family along the route
FLAMES and family along the way.

Click any photo for full size.

Kayla along the Cape Cod Canal, 6am Sunday morning.
Rolling into Provincetown two-by-two, Living Proof riders leading.

Team FLAMES

We ride with the Dana-Farber FLAMES — the team whose fundraising goes to lymphoma and leukemia research, and whose jerseys carry the names of the people we ride for. This is the crew at the Harvard ride on July 11, a few weeks before the start line.

About thirty-five Dana-Farber FLAMES riders in team jerseys posed on a lawn in two rows after a training ride
FLAMES at the Harvard ride, July 11, 2026.

Fly the route

This is the actual 174-mile route we rode, straight from the GPS data — Wellesley to Bourne on Saturday, Bourne to Provincetown on Sunday. It starts when it scrolls into view.

Open the flyover full screen.

PMC 2026, by the numbers

The PMC is the largest single-event athletic fundraiser in the country — and 100% of every rider-raised dollar goes directly to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute via the Jimmy Fund.

6,082riders crossed the start
3,500+volunteers
1,234Living Proof® riders & volunteers
$79M2026 fundraising goal
44 / 8states / countries
100%of rider-raised dollars to Dana-Farber

What it takes to feed the weekend

One thing we marvel at every year is the logistics — a once-a-year event, run almost entirely by volunteers, that feeds and moves thousands of people without missing a beat. Feeding the riders and volunteers alone takes:

Rest stop plate held in a cycling glove: peanut butter sandwiches, watermelon, cookie, and brownies
One plate, one rest stop. Repeat every 20 miles.

Born to Run

Bruce Springsteen sent this message to the PMC 2026 kickoff — an acoustic “Born to Run” for the riders. His wife, Patti Scialfa, has been treated for multiple myeloma at Dana-Farber for the past eight years.

Thank you

That's a wrap on PMC 2026. Between the two of us, and because of you, Team Prior sent a meaningful sum to Dana-Farber this year — as FLAMES riders, ours funds lymphoma and leukemia research. Every dollar of it goes straight to the Institute.