In just two months, Clayton students have raised over $13,000 for cancer research. The first Pedal the Cause race has been a success for CHS and St. Louis.

The Pedal the Cause event consisted of a pre-race dinner, breakfast and then the race on the weekend of Oct. 9. Junior Jocelyn Cooper organized a Clayton team for Pedal the Cause and led the fundraising efforts.

“The event was a huge success,” Cooper said. “I’m so proud and happy that we reached and surpassed our goal of $10,000.”

This was the first Pedal the Cause bike challenge, which is planned to be an annual event.

Jay Indovino, the Co-Executive Director of PTC, gave some background on the event.
According to Indovino, The Cancer Frontier Fund was developed with the goal of raising $50 million over 10 years to fund cancer research at Siteman Cancer Center. Pedal the Cause, the cycling fundraising event, was designed to be a significant part of that goal. The goal for this year’s bike challenge was $1 million.

Planning for the event started in January for Indovino and August for Cooper. Both of their efforts have paid off, as the first-time bike race garnered close to 800 riders and the CHS team consisted of 20 students.

CHS students honored three-year-old Jake Bartola when fundraising. When he was 2 years old, Bartola was diagnosed with brain cancer. After brain surgery, a bone marrow transplant, and chemotherapy, Jake is now working on regaining the strength which he had lost throughout his fight with cancer.

“Cancer is such an important cause to me because my I have lost many family members and close friends to cancer,” Cooper said. “I feel great sympathy to Jake and his family. He has already gone through so much more than I ever have in my life. I want to give Jake and kids like him a chance to live life to its fullest, just like I have been able to.”

Unique to Pedal the Cause, 100 percent of the organization’s proceeds stay in St. Louis. For this reason, Junior Nicole Indovino especially supports Pedal the Cause. She called the organization “great for our community.”

Eight CHS students rode the 25 mile bike loop which started and finished downtown. Junior David Rhodes, an avid biker, rode in Pedal the Cause.

“The course wasn’t too bad compared to what I have done in the past in the Adirondacks, but it was definitely more challenging than I expected,” Rhodes said. “Also, the fact that we were raising money for cancer research only helped my effort in biking.”

Nicole Indovino, who volunteered at the event, enjoyed watching the bike challenge.

“My favorite part of the event was watching everyone come through the finish, especially the 60-mile riders after their ride,” Nicole Indovino said. “There was a cool band playing and it was fun to see everyone so excited about their contribution to the cause.”

From a logistics standpoint, the ride itself was a success. As Co-Executive Director of Pedal the Cause, Jay Indovino focused on ride logistics which included course design, volunteer recruitment and coordination, aid stations, material procurement, safety and cycling community involvement.

“The ride itself ran as smoothly as possible for a first year event,” Jay Indovino said. “We had police help from seven different municipalities and more than 100 course marshals helping riders along the way.”

After a successful event this year, planners are looking to build off this year’s event in the future.

“So far, the response to our inaugural ride has been overwhelmingly positive,” Jay Indovino said. “We have not set official goals for 2011 yet, but we are confident that our event will grow, and we will be able to significantly increase our fundraising efforts for cancer research in St. Louis.”

Though MICDS had a larger team this year, students are confident Clayton can catch them next year.

“I would definitely consider biking in it again, it was a fun ride, and more kids from Clayton should definitely be involved next year, because we got beat out by MICDS,” Rhodes said.

“I am very glad I participated in Pedal the Cause,” Nicole Indovino said. “After hearing the survivor’s stories and seeing MICD’s 80 kid team, I cannot wait to get started for next year, it was a lot of fun.”

Pedal the Cause allowed students to enjoy themselves and contribute to our community at the same time.