By Christopher Tremblay, Staff Sports Writer

The Pan Mass Challenge is a Massachusetts based bike-a-thon that raises the most money for charity than any other single athletic fundraiser in the country. Its mission is to raise funds for cancer research and treatment at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Together, they are looking to get closer, by the mile, to a world without cancer. This year the PMC surpassed the one-billion-dollar mark in funds raised. 

Franklin’s Karen Shaw is one such rider who has climbed aboard her bike to help the cause. Now riding in her 11th year, Shaw was first introduced to the event when she had some friends, a nurse and a doctor at Mass General, who were already participating in the August ride. With a mother who was diagnosed with cancer, she, too, decided to take part.

“I had cycled locally and in Europe, but when my mom was diagnosed with cancer, I had to get on my bike and do this,” the Franklin native said. “I had previously thought about taking part in the yearly ride, but I was afraid of the distance (165 miles from Wellesley to Provincetown) and the fundraising you had to do, but in the end, I realized that the PMC was a great organization and so worth it.”

Having decided to hop on her bike with her friends, Shaw would train one day on the weekends until it got closer to the event, and she would then make it both days.

“It’s very time consuming,” Shaw said. “That first ride, the distance of 165 miles over two days was something very much different than I was used to riding 20 miles at a time.”

Taking part in an event that spanned over two days and finding herself sitting atop a bike for 165 miles certainly took its toll on the Franklin resident, but she didn’t let it dampen her spirits.

“That first year was definitely exhausting. You start very early Saturday morning, ride around 80 miles, sleep on the floor of a dorm with no air conditioning Saturday night only to find yourself back up to do it all again at 4 a.m. on Sunday morning,” Shaw said. “Come Sunday night, I was ready for bed by 7:30, but I’ve come to realize that the PMC is very well-oiled machine and very impressive.”

Now that she has participated in the PMC event for over a decade, Shaw is fully aware of what to expect and does not find herself as exhausted as she has been in the past. By the time Sunday night of the weekend events rolls around, she is finding herself staying up to 8:30, now.

Following her second year participating in the PMC, Shaw’s mother passed away, and she had a friend that was struggling with cancer as well, and things got a lot more emphasized to why she rides. There was also a year in which Shaw herself was told that she had cancer as well as another friend having breast cancer.

“Although my condition was not as serious as my friends’, I didn’t do the full ride that year and things did slow us down,” she said. “It hit a lot closer to home and made the ride that much more meaningful.” (Both women are now in remission)

While she still takes part in the event every August, primarily in her mother’s memory, Shaw also does it for her friends and others who have had to deal with the disease. 

“When you’re riding and see all the people lining the streets and the volunteers at the rest stop, it brings a huge excitement,” Shaw said. “The camaraderie of the 6,800 riders and 3,500 volunteers coming together all for the same reason is amazing.”

The Franklin rider plans to continue riding as long as she can, and although she may not be able to do the two-day ride, she does plan on continuing to participate and support the PMC in any way she can. 

“It may come down to shorter rides or just volunteering, but I will stay involved in some way,” she said. “The PMC is such an amazing organization that helps so many people in so many ways, it’s just so easy to get swept up in it.”