For OOFOS, the recovery footwear brand, raising funds for a cure for cancer is a team effort. Every summer, a team of OOFOS employees takes on the Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC), one of the country’s largest charitable cycling events. And every year, OOFOS CEO and co-founder Lou Panaccione has made the ride on an ElliptiGO bike.
The Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) is a Massachusetts-based bike-a-thon that raises more money for charity than any other single athletic fundraising event in the country. Held every year on the first weekend in August, the PMC benefits Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a world leader in adult and pediatric cancer treatment and research. Since the event began in 1980, the PMC has raised more than $1 billion.
This year’s ride, held August 1–2, drew more than 6,500 cyclists. Among those riders were 15 OOFOS employees, including Lou Panaccione. He was the sole participant to tackle the two-day ride on an ElliptiGO bike.
A Diagnosis That Sparked a Mission
Panaccione and his OOFOS coworkers participate in the Pan-Mass Challenge as members of Team Duncan. Duncan Finigan was OOFOS’ first employee, and she went on to become the company’s brand leader and marketing director. In October 2014, she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer.
In her honor, OOFOS launched Project Pink in January 2015, committing a portion of every sale on OOFOS.com to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund for breast cancer research, along with 100% of profits from its Project Pink styles each October. Later in 2015, Duncan and Panaccione rode the Pan-Mass Challenge together for the first time. Duncan participated in the PMC for four years.
Unfortunately, Duncan passed away on May 26, 2019. But OOFOS’ commitment hasn’t slowed: their Project Pink initiative has raised more than $6 million for breast cancer patient care and cancer research. Additionally, OOFOS employees participate annually in the PMC as members of Team Duncan. The team raises more than $1 million every year to find a cure for cancer.
Standing Up to the Challenge
“I started riding the PMC with Duncan when she was diagnosed with cancer, and I want to do it as long as I can to honor the courage she had,” Panaccione says. He has now taken on the Pan-Mass Challenge twelve years in a row.
Former ElliptiGO Marketing Manager Darren Brown loaned Panaccione and Duncan elliptical bikes for four months to train for and complete their first PMC. Brown, who is now a General Manager for OOFOS, has also participated in the PMC on an ElliptiGO bike. Panaccione bought his own ElliptiGO 11R before the year was out, and in 2021 added a second bike, an 8C that he keeps at his apartment in New York for rides through Central Park.
“I prefer riding an ElliptiGO to a regular bike mainly because it’s more efficient — I can get a better workout in whatever time I have to ride,” Panaccione notes. “It’s also more comfortable and natural to ride. And it’s very low-impact for my body.” He adds that riding ElliptiGO bikes even feels better on his hip than walking.
Committed to the Cause
For Panaccione, it’s important to feel good when he rides, because he’s already planning to participate again next year. “I keep coming back to the Pan-Mass Challenge because of the ability to raise money and awareness for cancer research and treatment, and the hope that someday there will be a cure,” he says. “The Pan-Mass Challenge has an incredible community of people all committed to this cause. That is powerful.”
That commitment is the real story: Team Duncan has grown to more than 120 riders, OOFOS’ Project Pink has donated more than $6 million and counting and Panaccione is the OOFOS CEO who’s shown up for 12 straight years to honor Duncan and to raise money for a cure for cancer. As Team Duncan keeps growing and Project Pink’s total keeps climbing, OOFOS and Panaccione will be back on the Pan-Mass Challenge start line again next August, ready for year 13.
See Lou Panaccione’s rider profile at profile.pmc.org/LP0145 and learn more about Team Duncan at profile.pmc.org/pmc/TG0059. Explore OOFOS’ Project Pink at oofos.com/pages/project-pink-new.
