The Franklin & Marshall College Cycling Team will pedal Friday into Saturday to raise money for and awareness about the bone marrow donor registration organization founded by an F&M alumnus.
The 24-hour, indoor Cycle-A-Thon begins Friday, at 4 p.m., in the main area of the Steinman College Center on the Lancaster campus. It continues through 4 p.m. Saturday. Two-three riders of the 20-member team will ride their bikes on stationary trainers in shifts of one-four hours during the event.
Their intent is to raise money through pledges for “Racing to Register” (www.racingtoregister.org ), a Pennsylvania non-profit founded by F&M alum Tom Kramer, whose wife was diagnosed with a rare form of Leukemia in 2009. Kramer has used endurance sports as a platform to draw attention to the need for bone marrow donors. He completed a marathon, two half Ironman triathlons and one full Ironman race in one year to inspire others to join the Be The Match Registry (formerly National Bone Marrow Donor Registry.)
Since its formation last year, Racing to Register registered more than 1,300 people and has facilitated two potential patient matches for patients. The national registry has only about 10,000 people registered.
“The cycling team has a long standing relationship with Racing to Register and its founder Tom Kramer,” notes F&M Team President Robert Burnett. “Tom is an active triathlete, cyclist and supporter of our team. He has educated all of us on the importance of joining the registry, and giving back to the community. We are thrilled to be holding this cycle-a-thon which will become an annual event.”
Kramer added: “we are thrilled that the F&M team has decided to support us in this way. Young people age 18-25 joining the registry is a critical base of potential donors, so this is a very important demographic for us to reach. We encourage everyone to come out support the cycling team and, most importantly, join the Be The Match Registry.”
The F&M team began in 2008 and has steadily increased in size and speed. Last year, the team finished ninth of more than 50 teams in the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference. With twice as many riders for the 2012 season, the team’s goal is to finish in the top five of the ECCC.
