University of Massachusets Athletics
Korhonen, McCarron Riding Cross Country For Charity
June 24, 2008 | Men's Track & Field
June 24, 2008
California, here they come.
In their high school days, not so long ago, Jon Korhonen and Andy McCarron were cross-country running stars for Gardner High and Lunenburg High, respectively.
Now 25 years old and college graduates, cross-country still beckons, but in a different way.
They're ready for a real cross-country challenge.
Planning an amazing feat of endurance, Mr. Korhonen and Mr. McCarron depart this weekend from Amherst and hope to travel 3,500 miles to San Francisco in 40 days, riding the entire trip on their bicycles.
This is no fun-filled, meandering "Easy Rider" type of trip. Mr. Korhonen and Mr. McCarron are teaming up with the Children's Hunger Fund to raise money for needy children throughout the world.
Both men, who excelled in track for the UMass-Amherst track team, are in superb physical condition.
"We're still primarily runners, but we do have a lot of experience riding bikes," said Mr. McCarron, who still holds the 1,000 meters record at Lunenburg High and recently hiked the Appalachian Trail.
Mr. Korhonen, fully aware of the physical stress the trip will bring, found a bright side in traveling such a distance on a bicycle.
"We're spending some money on bike supplies and food, but we're not spending a penny on gasoline," he added with a laugh, referring to the spiking rise in the cost of fuel.
Mr. Korhonen, an assistant director of admissions at UMass-Amherst, holds the Gardner High outdoor mile record. Two years ago, running a mile in 4 minutes and 4 seconds, he broke the UMass-Amherst mile record which had been held for 25 years.
In 2007, Mr. McCarron, who recently earned his master's degree in mechanical engineering from UMass, ran a terrific 2:32 Boston Marathon during a year in which he ran three different marathons.
"When we decided to ride across the country, we also decided that it would be a good way to raise a lot of money for a good cause," Mr. Korhonen said. "We wanted to help Children's Hunger Fund and the idea took off from there."
On Saturday, after goodbyes from friends in the Boston area, Mr. Korhonen and Mr. McCarron will leave from the Long Wharf in Boston Harbor and ride to Amherst. The official send-off will be from the Fort River Elementary School parking lot in Amherst on Sunday morning beginning at 9 a.m.
The target date for the duo pedaling into view of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco is July 23. Their return trip will be much quicker. They have already purchased one-way flights from San Francisco to Boston.
"That will be easy," Mr. Korhonen joked. "We just have to get on a plane."
Said Mr. Korhonen, excited about this weekend after months of planning, "The ride from Boston to Amherst will be a good start, because that's about what our normal daily distance will be."
Mapping the 3,500 mile route, carefully plotted with safe roads off the major highways, Mr. Korhonen said that completing their long route from Amherst will take them to New York across the Catskills, and a very hilly section. Then on through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, north through Iowa and then onward through Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and finally to the Pacific Ocean, California and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Along the way, the duo will be camping overnight and meeting up with several friends from high school and college in different states.
"We have a teammate from UMass in Indiana, for example," Mr. Korhonen said. "In each spot, it will be just to put our heads down for a brief sleep and then on the bikes again. We want to ride about 100 miles a day. It will be a lot of biking, not a lot of sleeping."
After their return, Mr. Korhonen and Mr. McCarron will hold a "thank you" celebration at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 16 at the UMass-Amherst Campus Center.
More than 200 different donors have contributed to the cause spearheaded by Mr. Korhonen and Mr. McCarron.
"We've raised over $14,000 so far, and every penny we raise is going directly to the charity," Mr. Korhonen said.
Interested donors may find more information, including donation totals, lists of sponsors and other information at www.coast2coastcycle.org.
Also on the Web site will be frequent blog postings from the cyclists as they travel across the country. Said Mr. McCarron, "Every few days, we'll have something posted as to our whereabouts and what we're up to."
Since 1991, Children's Hunger Fund has been serving children in need across America and around the world. Over the past 16 years, CHF has distributed more than $700 million in aid, bringing hope to children in more than 70 countries worldwide. In 2005, CHF worked domestically to assist thousands of Hurricane Katrina victims. To learn more about the Children's Hunger Fund, visit www.childrenshungerfund.org.
