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Pan-Massachusetts Challenge kicks off tonight

Published Date:   August 06, 2010

Topic:   Press Releases

The 31st annual Pan-Massachusetts Challenge opens tonight with a live show on NECN at 7 p.m. featuring inspiring PMC stories and a performance by Ayla Brown. Saturday, Aug. 7 beginning at dawn, thousands of cyclists will depart Sturbridge and Wellesley on route to raising a goal of $31 million. Follow the PMC on TwitterFacebook and our Blog all weekend long. You never know who will blend into the crowd PMC weekend: politicians, athletes, CEOs, TV hosts, cancer survivors, teens and grandparents all join together for the cause of ending cancer. Here's more about this weekend:

Senators John Kerry and Scott Brown Dismiss Political Differences, Saddle Up for 110 Mile Ride to Raise Money for Cancer Research

31st Annual PMC is Aug. 7 & 8

STURBRIDGE, Mass. (August 6, 2010) — Among the 5,100 cyclists who will begin their Pan-Massachusetts Challenge trek on Saturday at sunrise will be two very familiar Massachusetts politicians who most often meet on opposites sides of the aisle. But Sens. John Kerry and Scott Brown will put their political differences aside, suit up in spandex and bike 110 miles from Sturbridge to Bourne on first of the two-day event to raise money for cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through its Jimmy Fund. Senator Brown is riding in honor of 27-year PMC rider and retired Mass. Supreme Court Justice, Samuel Zoll, who was diagnosed this past spring with cancer of the gallbladder. Brown tells the story that Judge Zoll gave him a second chance when he was a juvenile offender some 35 years ago. Senator Kerry is a seven-time PMC cyclist who is also a survivor of prostate cancer and whose wife, Teresa Heinz, is currently being treated for cancer. This week, Vicki Kennedy,widow of the late Senator Edward Kennedy, sent an email to Kerry supporters seeking contributions to his PMC fundraising effort in her husband's memory.  On Friday, Aug. 6, Senator Brown's daughter, Ayla Brown, who was a semi-finalist on "American Idol," and is now a correspondent on the "CBS Early Show," will sing at the PMC's opening ceremony. The show is being produced by NECN and will air live from 7 to 7:30 p.m. Riding with the senators will be PMC Founder and Executive Director, Billy Starr, who has ridden each of the PMC's 31 years;  NECN's gourmet producer Jenny Johnson and weather gal Danielle Niles; WBZ-TV's David Wade; WEEI's Gerry Callahan; Boston Bruins announcer Jack Edwards; Miami Dolphins CEO Mike Dee; wife of Red Sox President and CEO Larry Lucchino, Stacey Lucchino will head up the Red Sox Team 9, on which David Ortiz's wife, Tiffany, will ride with Sue Farrell, wife of Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell. Riding on the Boston Bruins Team are former players Bob Sweeney, Frank Simonetti, Shawn McEachern and Gary Doak. Jen Andruzzi, wife of former New England Patriots Player, Joe Andruzzi will ride, as will professional cyclist and Tour de France stage winner, Magnus Backstedt, who is also a survivor of melanoma and whose sister is being treated for breast cancer.

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