MMRF Accelerator Magazine Winter 2017 Edition | Page 20

TEAM FOR CURES: ENDURANCE EVENTS SIX MMRF RIDERS COMPLETE COAST TO COAST RIDE TO BENEFIT MMRF On September 21, 2017, six courageous and dedicated MMRF supporters, including 71-year-old myeloma patient Chuck Wakefield, completed a grueling 3,400 mile bicycle ride that had started in Manhattan Beach, CA, seven weeks earlier. This epic undertaking, called Road to Victories and sponsored by Janssen Oncology, resulted in raising awareness and funds to accelerate research for multiple myeloma. The six-man team was greeted at the finish line at Jennings Beach in Fairfield, CT, by hundreds of supporters, including many who joined the Road to Victories team for the last 62 or 25 miles of the course. Also joining on the final day were the 12 MMRF cyclists who had ridden the first eight days of the course, from Manhattan Beach to Flagstaff Arizona, including four myeloma patients, two representatives from Janssen Oncology, and one rider from the MMRF. In all, the Road to Victories ride raised over $400,000, 100% of which was directed to the MMRF to fund critical myeloma research. To read more about Road to Victories, visit RoadToVictories.com. RIDE WITH US IN 2018! The MMRF is working on plans for 2018 that will continue the Road to Victories effort, featuring a three- day ride from London to Paris, and a six-day ride in Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks. For more information, please contact: [email protected] MM4MM TAKES ON TWO NEW COUNTRIES! The Moving Mountains for Multiple Myeloma ® (MM4MM) program continues to flourish and expand in 2017 and 2018 – reaching two new corners of the world. This July, we had a team of 20 hikers who took on Mt. Fuji in Japan. The team, which included six patients from across the U.S., battled some of the steepest inclines the program has overcome to date! Reaching the world famous summit just before sunrise, patient and renowned trumpeter Ryan Anthony of CancerBlows welcomed the victorious day with an emotional rendition of “Amazing Grace”. In March of 2018, a team of 18, including seven patient climbers alongside 11 doctors and caregivers will climb to the doorstep of the highest mountain in the world, trekking nine days across the Himalayas to Everest Base Camp in Nepal. The next available hiking teams for the MM4MM program will be announced in late fall of 2017. For more information, please contact Jane Hoffmann at [email protected]. 20 T H E M M R F.ORG