Cyclists donate $102K to cancer research

Kirt

JORBA: Chimney Rock, Team MTBNJ.COM
JORBA.ORG
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Cyclists donate $102K to cancer research
Century for the Cure benefits The Cancer Institute.

By CLEM FIORENTINO
STAFF WRITER

When Scott Glickman heard the diagnosis in November 1997, there wasn't much to be said.

The Warren resident, then 35, knew it was a crapshoot, that stage four non-Hodgkins lymphoma strikes 50,000 Americans each year, killing 50 percent of them. So the choice was clear. Chemotherapy and "try not to read the statistics," Glickman said.

With a 9-month-old daughter at the time, "I was certainly focused on recovery," Glickman said. "I was lucky."

Three years ago, he decided to give something back. A dedicated cyclist, the CFO of Patella Woodworking in Jersey City created the one-day, 100-mile "Century for the Cure" bicycle tour. The event, now firmly established each year for the Saturday after Labor Day, would benefit The Cancer Institute of New Jersey in New Brunswick, where Glickman was treated.

A veteran of the two-day, 200-mile Pan Mass Challenge Bike Ride, he plotted the course, starting at Riverbend Day Camp in Warren, west to Three Bridges, looping back through Basking Ridge and New Vernon, and finishing back at the starting line.

The first year, he recruited 18 cyclists and raised $30,000. The second year, with 32 cyclists, he was able to donate $50,000 to the cause.

This past September, however, the event hit a new high with 57 cyclists, raising $102,000, which Glickman will sign over to the cancer institute next month.

"Every rider commits to a minimum of $500," he said. "But everyone is encouraged not to stop."

Glickman stresses the event is more than just a physical test of endurance.

"What makes the ride really special is the energy of the riders and the energy of the volunteers who coordinate rest stops every 20 miles along the way," Glickman said. "This is not a race. There's no acknowledgment of a first person across the finish line. It's all about finishing and getting the recent cancer survivors to the finish."

That includes survivors such as Gary Schnitzer, the owner of the Bike N Gear bike shop on Amwell Road in the Somerset section of Franklin.

Schnitzer, diagnosed with leukemia last year, had a stem-cell transplant in November 2006 at the cancer institute and was discharged in mid-January, less than eight months before the ride.

Schnitzer, a Metuchen resident and longtime cycling enthusiast, knew he was defying the odds. He started pedaling indoors about two weeks after he was released. Later, he started training with a half-dozen of his customers every Saturday morning.

"I was surprised I was able to finish it," he said, especially because the thermometer hit a high of 90 degrees that day. "You can train for the hills, but you can't train for the heat."

Schnitzer said his group had an average speed of 16 mph and an actual ride time of 6 hours, 17 minutes. With rest stops, however, they were out there for more than eight hours.

"We stopped more than we should have," Schnitzer said.

"Everyone's goal was to get Gary to the end," Glickman said.

Money raised from the ride will be used to support cutting-edge research at the cancer institute to advance treatments and potential cures for cancer.

All ages are welcome. For example, Harry August, 12, of Belle Mead, rode in the event as a bar mitzvah project. Instead of gifts, he asked for donations.

Harry is the son of Dr. David A. August, chief of the division of surgical oncology at the cancer institute and professor of surgery at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

August, who also rode in the event, is proud of his son.

"He is excited that he will be fulfilling two good deeds," August said. "First, he hopes his support of cancer research will save lives. Second, he is establishing what he anticipates will be a lifelong commitment to personal health."

The Cancer Institute of New Jersey is the state's only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, and is dedicated to improving the prevention, detection, treatment and care of patients with cancer. The institute's physician-scientists engage in translational research, transforming their laboratory discoveries into clinical practice, quite literally bringing research to life.

"New cancer therapies are needed," said Dr. Roger Strair, director of the institute's hematologic malignancies program and professor of medicine at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. "Scott's continued commitment to the research required to develop these therapies makes us, and our patients, feel extremely proud and thankful."

"While crossing the finish line may represent a personal milestone in one's life, it's even more amazing to think of the greater achievement that will be made," Glickman said. "That of helping the fight against cancer."

As for next year, the date has been set — Sept. 6, 2008. For more information, go to www.centuryforthecure.com.

http://www.c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007712170373
 

Bike N Gear

Shop: Bike N Gear
Shop Keep
Sept. 6th next year. Come join us. It was a great ride. You have to raise $500. Start now, and it will be easy.;)

Gary
 

mergs

Spokompton's Finest
JORBA.ORG
Great story Kirt. Gary, you're a bit of an inspiration, well done man. :)

Kirt, when I did LDR 2 years ago, one question that came up repeatedly was "how much money did you raise?". Answer: none. (Its not a charity ride.) I honestly felt a little silly bc in retrospect it was an opportunity raise money (I was just worrying about surviving, frankly).

If we do it this June (we're still on right?), let's try and do it as a fund raiser. I know I can raise a few hundred from family and friends. Even if its only $50, if we turn it over to a charity(s) of our choosing, its still something. What ya think?
 

Kirt

JORBA: Chimney Rock, Team MTBNJ.COM
JORBA.ORG
Team MTBNJ Halter's
If we do it this June (we're still on right?), let's try and do it as a fund raiser. I know I can raise a few hundred from family and friends. Even if its only $50, if we turn it over to a charity(s) of our choosing, its still something. What ya think?

I'm still in & it sounds like a plan.
 
Top Bottom