A police chase close to home: Troopers join bike ride for cancer

Massachusetts State Police Captain Tom Grenham was bicycling in last year's Pan-Massachusetts Challenge, an annual charity bike-a-thon that raises money for cancer research and treatment, when a fellow officer he had never met rode up next to him.

"We rode with each other for a while and decided why not start a State Police team," said Grenham, 42, of Marshfield.

Interest was high among the officers and this weekend, 37 of them will don matching blue cycling shirts, shorts, and helmets to form the first State Police team in Pan-Massachusetts Challenge history.

Organizers expect 5,500 people to participate in the event, which has raised more than $204 million for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's Jimmy Fund over the past 28 years. Cyclists hope to raise $34 million collectively this year.

Although many riders, including the State Police team, bike the signature 190-mile course from Sturbridge to Provincetown, participants can choose from seven routes of varying length and difficulty. They are required to raise between $1,300 and $4,000 depending on which course they select.

Grenham became involved in cancer fund-raising two years ago when his daughter, Shannon, now 5, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. She is in the final stages of treatment and serves as an inspiration for the officers' participation in the bike-a-thon, said Grenham, whose wife retired early from the State Police to care for Shannon.

Grenham said hearing the stories of cancer survivors and meeting them along the course also provides incentives.

"It's a very emotional and uplifting event," said Grenham, who cannot bike this year because of an injury but still raised money as a virtual rider. "All of your fund-raising and everything you do for these kids is hard work. And your reward is going through the race."

Grenham also participates on another team that raises money for activities for children being treated at Dana-Farber's Jimmy Fund Clinic.

"They go through so much [treatment] that it's nice to able to give them something fun to look forward to," he said.

Besides reaching their goal of raising $200,000, State Police Lieutenant Bill Coulter, a cocaptain of the police team, said the ride will help the officers portray themselves in a positive light.

"We feel that in our occupation we are role models and we want to be a positive role model," said Coulter, 56, of Stoughton.

Although this is Coulter's first time biking in the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge, the 33-year State Police veteran is no stranger to grueling athletic courses, having participated in many Ironman triathlons and marathons.

The event also has a personal meaning for Coulter. He was diagnosed with throat cancer three years ago and spent a year undergoing surgeries, radiation, and chemotherapy.

"People who raised money 10 years ago for cancer were the people who probably saved my life," Coulter said, adding he hopes to repay the favor to future cancer patients.

Coulter had an aggressive form of the disease that could have been deadly if not for successful treatments and a positive attitude, he said.

"My attitude was just to dig in and win," he said. "I never had death as an option. It was just a matter of taking it one day at a time until I won."

While Coulter overcame his bout with cancer, he knows of many other police officers and their families who were not as fortunate.

"It's a very important disease to us," Coulter said. "I've known at least 10 state troopers who have died of cancer since I've been a state trooper, so it affects us all."

Stories such as Coulter's and Grenham's are great motivators for donors and participants, said Billy Starr, the event's executive director and founder.

"The human component is at the center of this," Starr said. "The stories are endless."

Starr started the event with 36 riders in 1980 after his mother, uncle, and cousin died of various forms of cancer in the 1970s.

"I was looking for some way to cope with the grieving process and do something meaningful with my life," said Starr, an avid biker who rides in the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge every year. "Biking is a neat sport. There's teamwork and it's an adventure and I thought I could put at the heart of it fund-raising for a cause close to my life."

Also facing this year's 190-mile ride is Acton resident Dave Christmas, who first participated 12 years ago after his friend's brother died of cancer. Christmas and his team of 28 cyclists raise money by selling T-shirts and removable tattoos.

"The idea was to create something people could identify with," said Christmas, 54, of the team's signature logo, which features a large, red tongue and the words "Lick Cancer."

At last year's event, they sold 800 to 900 T-shirts and 1,000 tattoos to fellow cyclists and spectators, raising more than $5,000.

The team arrives at the starting point in an old school bus covered with sayings and the logo.

"It really draws our team together," he said. "We ride it out to Sturbridge and it's a party bus. It really is a lot of fun."

For information about the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge or to see riders and their stories, visit www.pmc.org.