LEWISTON — More than 1,000 men, women and children spanning 23 states and three Canadian provinces have registered to cycle, run or walk in The Dempsey Challenge, a fundraising event scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 4.
Registrations are ongoing and will be accepted through the morning of the event.
Participants may choose one of four cycling routes (10, 25, 50 or 100 miles) or a 5K (3.1 mile) run/walk. The event’s namesake — actor, Maine native and avid cyclist, Patrick Dempsey — is scheduled to take part in the festivities, along with pro cyclists George Hincapie, a five-time Olympian, and David Zabriskie, a Tour de France record holder for fastest time trial.
The event’s Festival in the Park will include a Health and Wellness Expo, KidZone, lobster bake, live entertainment, health screenings and more.
“We are thrilled with the response we have received for The Challenge and are very optimistic we will reach our goal of 3,000 participants,” said event manager Wendy Tardif. “There is a lot of excitement around forming teams with co-workers, family and friends and raising money that will directly affect cancer survivors and their families everywhere.”
Funds will benefit the Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope and Healing at Central Maine Medical Center which provides free support, education and wellness services to cancer patients and caregivers. In its first year, the Center had more than 6,000 direct patient contacts and served more than 2,000 on its toll-free cancer helpline.
Dempsey created the Center in response to his mother’s multiple bouts with ovarian cancer. Through the Challenge, he hopes to raise cancer awareness and promote healthy lifestyles.
Participants are encouraged to create or join teams to build camaraderie and assist their fundraising efforts. Among the 116 registered teams, four have raised more than $4,000 thus far. Although the event offers fundraising incentives, no fundraising minimum is required to participate.
More information, including registration tools, route maps and a fundraising toolkit, is available at www.dempseychallenge.org.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.