McNally Bike-A-Thon for Cancer

This year’s McNally students raised $63,000 through their Bike-A-Thon.

“Our goal is and always will be, to keep competing long enough, so that someday we can race more in honour of the survivors rather than in the memory of the victims.” –Kerry Nisbet, Co-founder of Ironcops.

For the past four years, McNally High School students in Edmonton have been the proud hosts of the Bike-A-Thon. During this time, McNally has raised an astonishing $180,000, with $63,000 coming from this year’s efforts alone! All the money raised is donated to Ironcops and the Canadian Cancer Society, national community-based organizations that’s missions are based on the eradication of cancer and the enhancement of the quality of life of people living with cancer.

This year’s Bike-A-Thon was once again a team effort as 48 teams with 10 student members on each team rode a stationary bike for 24 hours straight. “After the one-hour mark, I couldn’t feel my legs anymore. Just imagine how exhausting it would be if I had to bike the entire 24 hours by myself. Thank goodness we’re in teams,” says Tonny, a grade 11 participant.

Each team had one member riding the bike at all times. To keep up the team spirit, prizes were awarded in various best team categories and McNally also went green this year with a new award for “the smallest carbon footprint.” The event concluded with a cheque presentation to the representatives from the Canadian Cancer Society and the Cops for Cancer Team. Carol Gosse, the representative from the Canadian Cancer Society says, “The students did an excellent job of saving lives while biking.”

This event was a huge success because of the dedication of the participants to aid research development, as well as by the many sponsors, like the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League, who encouraged community spirit by pitching in to give out prizes, such as tickets to go see Edmonton Eskimos games.
Bike-A-Thon is one of the biggest events at McNally that boosts the school’s Tiger spirit.

Jonathan, a grade 11 participant says, “Bike-A-Thon helps to put cancer research and its importance in the spotlight.” It is for this worthy cause that McNally students are turning this event into a school tradition.