Team of four women will cycle coast-to-coast
to raise awareness for genetic disorder and the Children’s Tumor Foundation
New York, NY – June 17, 2015 – Beginning June 20, 2015, members of the NF Endurance Race Across America team will embark on an extraordinary journey that will test their physical limits, mental resilience, and commitment to a cause. As competitors in Race Across America (RAAM), the team will endure 3,000 miles on their bicycles across the width of the North American Continent. The team will be supported by an 11-member crew riding in two vehicles and an RV.
The NF Endurance RAAM team is working to raise $100,000 for the Children’s Tumor Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to finding effective treatments for the millions of people worldwide living with neurofibromatosis (NF). Neurofibromatosis is a genetic disorder that can cause tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body. NF affects one in 3,000 people; there is currently no cure. One hundred percent of the money raised will be matched by the Moffett Family Matching Gift Fund.
The team includes Lesley Oslica and Angela Earle, who are competing in RAAM in honor of their respective daughters, Katie and Kylie, who live with NF. The other two members of the team, Julie Hathcock and Hannah Turnbough, are riding for Katie and Kylie, as well as their own NF Heroes, Dena Jones and Amber Goodwin, respectively. The entire team is inspired by all the children and adults who live with neurofibromatosis and face each day with strength, courage, and grace.
“The journey of RAAM is somewhat parallel to living with NF: there are some mountains we have to climb and some valleys we have to endure,” said Lesley Oslica, NF Endurance RAAM team member and Children’s Tumor Foundation Board Member. “We started the CrankNForACure team after the Moffett family generously offered a $2.5 million matching gift to the Children’s Tumor Foundation to fund NF research. A big donation demanded a big fundraising idea, and what’s bigger than cycling across the country? I’m looking forward to accomplishing this monumental task with our team and knowing we advanced the mission to End NF.”
The toughest endurance event in the world, RAAM offers long-distance cyclists the opportunity to challenge themselves to the height of their abilities. These modern day athletes brave the desert, the plains and the mountain weather to raise thousands of dollars for charities around the world. Over 2,000 cyclists have completed RAAM since its first edition in 1982; female participants account for less than 15% of competitors.
“This is going to be the most difficult endurance event I’ve ever considered in my life. The reason I continue to push myself to the limit is because of my daughter Kylie. She is nine years old and has gone through so much more in her life than most adults,” said Angela Earle, NF Endurance RAAM team member. “I want to show both of my girls that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. You fall down in life, you get back up. Over and over.”
To follow the NF Endurance team in the 2015 Race Across America, click here.
About Children’s Tumor Foundation
The Children’s Tumor Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to finding effective treatments for the millions of people worldwide living with neurofibromatosis (NF), a term for three distinct disorders: NF1, NF2, and schwannomatosis. NF can cause tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body and may lead to blindness, bone abnormalities, cancer, deafness, disfigurement, learning disabilities, and excruciating and disabling pain. NF affects one in every 3,000 people, more than cystic fibrosis, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and Huntington’s disease combined. The Children’s Tumor Foundation funds critical research into neurofibromatosis. In addition to benefiting those who live with NF, this research is shedding new light on several forms of cancer, brain tumors, bone abnormalities, and learning disabilities, ultimately benefiting the broader community. For more information, please visit www.ctf.org.
About the Race Across America (RAAM)
The Race Across America, known as the “world’s toughest bicycle race”, will set over 200 competitors on a 3,000-mile route stretching from Oceanside, California to Annapolis, Maryland. Athletes race continuously day and night, on their own power or share the challenge with a team, and a crew of 8 – 15 people following in support vehicles with food and supplies for the race. These courageous adventurers brave heat, wind, thunderstorms, altitude, the dark of night, fatigue and sleep deprivation, cross several major mountain ranges and raise over one million dollars for charity. For more information and race updates, see www.raceacrossamerica.org.
