Cyclists Go Coast to Coast in support of Children’s Hunger Fund

By Owen Boss

While other people their age are taking time to relax by the beach, Jon Korhonen and Andy McCarron are going to spend the majority of their summer pedaling across the country to raise money for the Children’s Hunger Fund. The trip, which extends from Boston to San Francisco will cover 3,500 miles and benefit impoverished children all over the globe. Both Mr. Korhonen and Mr. McCarron are accomplished endurance athletes and have excelled academically during their time at The University of Massachusetts Amherst. Mr. Korhonen is now coach of the men’s cross country and track and field programs at UMass Amherst, and garnered ESPN Academic All-American honors. Mr. Korhonen currently holds the UMass school record in the 1 mile run (4:04). Next fall, he will be pursuing his coaching career endeavors as a graduate student in the Human Development and Psychology MEd. program at Harvard. As an undergraduate at UMass, Mr. McCarron was 2004 captain of the men’s cross country team, and has since raced in three marathons for the Central Mass Striders boasting a personal best of 2:31:08 (5:49/mi). Mr. McCarron also recently received his master’s degree in mechanical engineering at UMass Amherst in 2008. Asked why they had decided to support the Children’s Hunger Fund, Mr. Korhonen said, “We had been recommended by Deborah Hoadley, a local doctor who is acting as campaign manager and sports nutrition advisor for our trip. She was very impressed with (The Children’s Hunger Fund’s) credentials, and the charity had been supported by her hospital in the past.” Referring to the bicycle trip, Mr. Korhonen said, “The plan is to get there in about 40 days, which is ambitious at least. That’s a daily average of about 100 miles with a day off here or there.” The two cyclists began raising money by sending out letters to friends and family around the country. “We sent out over 600 letters to pretty much everyone either one of us had ever met,” Mr. Korhonen said. According to their Web site: http://www.coast2coastcycle.org, they have already raised more than $2,000 dollars for the Children’s Hunger Fund. The scheduled departure date is June 14, and the majority of their efforts have been focused on gathering and contacting sponsors. “I’ve been doing most of the planning myself,” added Mr. Korhonen because Mr.McCarron is currently celebrating the end of his 6 1/2 years of academia with a three-month solo hike of the Appalachian Trail. Mr. McCarron is going to return to New England by the end of May, according to Mr. Korhonen, which will give him a few weeks to recover before the trip out west. Mr. Korhonen noted that the route for the journey has not been a priority, “We are just so busy gaining sponsors that the actually mapping of the trip will be something we will worry about in May.” Mr. Korhonen then added jokingly, “We’re going to bring a compass, and as long as the needle is pointing west, I think we should be fine.” The cyclists plan to bring sleeping bags and tents with them. Over the past 16 years, the Children's Hunger Fund has distributed more than $700 million in aid, bringing hope to children in more than 70 countries worldwide. In 2005, the Children’s Hunger Fund worked domestically to assist thousands of Hurricane Katrina victims. In a recent Forbes magazine guide that rated the efficiency of U.S. charities, the Children’s Hunger Fund was the only organization to receive a 100 percent efficiency rating in all three of Forbes’ categories. Personal donations to the fund can be made directly at the coast2coastcycle.org Web site, or at http://www.childrenshungerfund.org.

Appeared on Page 1 on 4/5/2008 (Vol. 206 No. 82)