A 640-mile bike race this weekend will bring many physically challenged athletes closer to accomplishing their goals.
The Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF), a nonprofit organization that supports people with disabilities and helps them live active and healthy lives, launched its inaugural “Million Dollar Challenge” bike ride Sunday, Oct. 29, in San Francisco. It will end on Sunday, Nov. 5, in San Diego. The event will help CAF raise $1 million to fund a facility where individuals can recover from injuries, train for athletic events and receive coaching from experts.
Fifteen of the 100 cyclists participating in the eight-day journey down the coast are La Jolla residents, and most are from San Diego. With the exception of a few former professional triathletes and cyclists, all racers are amateurs, according to Kristine Entwistle, the event director.
Five of the physically challenged athletes will complete the entire course, including two people who will be hand-cycling, two who are cycling with prosthetic legs and a legally blind cyclist.
Qualcomm sponsored the race, and the company’s Global Development President Jeff Jacobs, also a triathlete and cyclist, will be cycling alongside others at the event.
Each participant was required to raise $10,000 for the new facility, and 20 individuals exceeded that amount, Entwistle said.
In conjunction with the “Million Dollar Challenge,” CAF will also be hosting its 13th annual San Diego Triathlon Challenge at La Jolla Cove at 7 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 5. Cyclists from the “Million Dollar Challenge” will cross the same finish line as the triathletes.
The 650 triathletes participating will swim, run and then finish the race on bicycles, according to Roy Perkins, CAF’s director of development.
“The San Diego Triathlon Challenge is the number-one fund-raising event for CAF,” Perkins said. “Over the years, the foundation has raised over $8 million and provided direct funding in the form of grants and training for over 2,100 physically challenged athletes here and around the world, and funds also go toward programs, which help us reach an additional 60,000 people a year.”
Participants have raised anywhere from $150 to $150,000 and CAF expects to generate $1 million from the event, Perkins said.
Hollywood comedian and actor Robin Williams, who has taken part in the event’s cycling portion for the last six years, is expected to make an appearance with an array of other celebrities, such as Amanda Beard, seven-time Olympic medalist in swimming, and actress and triathlete Hannah Cole, according to Perkins.
Million Dollar Challenge participants are scheduled to cross the finish line at La Jolla Cove by 1:30 p.m. and a barbecue will follow at 3:30 p.m. that day.
For information about the event, visit www.cyclemdc.com. For more information about the CAF, visit www.challengedathletes.org.