- Derek Fitzgerald
The 156 Over 24 Challenge
Updated: Mar 25, 2021
The 156 Over 24 Challenge
A Cycling Fundraiser to Benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
CLICK HERE TO DONATE AND/OR REGISTER
Event Info & FAQs
Event Date: May 22nd, 10:00am - May 23rd, 10:00am
Registration Opens: March 23rd
Fundraising Window: March 23rd - June 1st
Social Tags: #156over24 #FightBloodCancer #CancerSucks
The Reason: 156 people die of blood cancers in the United States every single day.
The Challenge: Starting at 10:00am EST on May 22nd, cancer survivor and heart transplant recipient, Derek Fitzgerald, will attempt to ride for 24 hours straight to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). We invite you to create your own cycling teams (indoor or outdoor) with your friends and family that covers each of the 24 hours of the event.
The Guidelines:
Registration & Fundraising
The 156 Over 24 Challenge is a fundraising event to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
All funds raised will go directly to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Registration for the event will open on March 23rd, 2021. Once registered, each participant will have their own fundraising page provided by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
There is no registration fee to join the 156 Over 24 Challenge, however there IS a fundraising request. Each team can set their own fundraising goals, but it’s our hope that every participant of each team will try to raise at least $156 — $1 for each life that will be lost over the 24 hours of the event.
A few things to note about this fundraising commitment:
No one is asking any participant to pull out their credit card to cover the fundraising on their own
While the event itself will only last 24 hours, there is a 10 week fundraising window (starting March 23rd) to reach out to friends, family, co-workers, and/or complete strangers to meet your goal
There is only one exception to our minimum fundraising request of $156 per person, per team, and that’s if you have a team of 3 or less covering all 24 hours. In that case, we ask that the team raise a minimum of $500 (or roughly $167 per team member)
Fundraising a minimum of $156 is not a requirement to participate in the event - please do your best in the spirit of the cause
We certainly won’t stop you if you want to raise MORE than $156. In fact, there are some really powerful incentives to have your team raise the most money over the course of the 10 week fundraising period (check out our prizes section toward the end of this document)
Creating a Team
The “challenge” part of the 156 Over 24 Challenge is to have someone riding for all 24 hours of the event, starting at 10:00am EST on May 22nd, and finishing at 10:00am EST on May 23rd
The teams can have as many people as you like. Want to ride 2 hours? Create a 12-person team. Want to ride an hour? Create a 24-person team. Are you insane like Derek and want to try riding 24 hours? Have at it, ya’ loon. All we ask is that you coordinate the rider logistics for your team to cover the challenge
Participants can ride multiple shifts if they want (or need)
Bathroom breaks are allowed (you're not being tracked, this isn’t a pro race, and we’re not monsters), but if you hop off for 5 minutes, then add that 5 back on to the end of your ride
Send us a photo of your ride to the 156 Over 24 Challenge Headquarters and we’ll share that proof from our Facebook page - your pic might even make it on the broadcast of the event!
For our runners: many of you have asked if riding a bike is a requirement, and the answer is no, of course not. First and foremost, this event is being held to make it easier for the next person diagnosed with a blood cancer, to help save lives, and to one day end cancer. If you want to run for an hour (or 24), then have at it. If you want to sit on the sofa and exercise your generosity more than your cardiovascular system, no one will turn away your money, it’s just not how we’re going to promote this particular event. Bottom line is that we’re grateful to everyone who participates in this event at any level
The Broadcast: A 24-hour, LIVE stream will be broadcast to Facebook and YouTube on the day of the event to showcase inspirational stories of survival, and to share the mission of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Entertainment will be provided throughout the day, along with opportunities for ride participants and event sponsors to be featured in interviews (must have Skype and if riding, please ride responsibly). A schedule of the days’ events will be provided ahead of the event. Auction items will be offered throughout the broadcast. A list of auction items will be made available ahead of the event. Top fundraising teams will be featured in the broadcast and on social media.
The Prizes: If the event reaches a minimum of $50,000, the top fundraising team will have the opportunity to select from a portfolio of LLS research projects to name one of those projects in honor of the person of their choice. If the event reaches over $100,000, the second top fundraising team will be given the same honor.
Thank you so much for your interest in this event! We look forward to seeing you on May 22nd!!
Sincerely,
The 156 Over 24 Challenge Team