By Julia Buskirk
This weekend, August 1 – 2, Vernon County’s Monte Dunnum will travel across the country to join nearly 6,500 cyclists in riding the annual Pan-Mass Challenge, a two-day bike-a-thon in Massachusetts that’s aiming to raise $79 million in 2026 for cancer research and care. Marking Monte’s first-time riding in the PMC, he’ll be cycling alongside his son Brian, in memory of Brian’s fiancée’s father David Keegan who passed away in 2025 from Mesothelioma.
“David was a dedicated PMC participant himself, and our family is choosing to honor his legacy by continuing the ride he started,” Dunnum says.
Dunnum, 64, was the high school band director for Viroqua and Westby for 35 years, and is now a realtor and farmer in his retirement. His future daughter-in-law made sure he and his wife were able to meet Keegan before his death, and he looks forward to participating on the PMC ride with their family.
The first Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) ride was organized in 1980 by Billy Starr in honor of his mother, Betty Starr, who died from melanoma at age 49. That inaugural ride consisted of 36 bikers and 10 volunteers. Although everyone got lost along the route that year, they accomplished their goal: they raised $10,200 for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where Billy’s mother was treated.
Since then, that event has grown to involve 6,500 riders, 3,500 volunteers, and has raised $1.125 billion to date. These funds are essential to fueling critical cancer research and care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, one of the nation’s top three cancer research centers.
Among the PMC’s most notable impacts includes providing nearly $20 million in funds to Dr. Brian Wolpin, the Principal Investigator of a recent groundbreaking clinical trial that doubled survival rates of patients with pancreatic cancer.
Dunnum will participate in the 100 mile route beginning in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and ending in Bourne. New to biking, Dunnum is enthusiastic about the challenge.
“If I’m last to finish, I don’t care,” said Dunnum. “I’m going to take in what I can, enjoy the sights, and spend time with my family. It’s all for a great cause.
Juila Buskirk is a graduate of UW-Madison where she studied conservation biology and journalism. She currently writes, paints, and reports in Southwestern Wisconsin.
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