An organization that has generated millions of dollars for local cancer research projects is coming back stronger after Hurricane Helene.
PACELINE is a nonprofit organization working with the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) Foundation to support the Georgia Cancer Center (GCC) at MCG. It had to cancel its signature event, PaceDay 2024, in the wake of the hurricane.
Leaders used the opportunity to survey their supporters on how to make the October 2025 event a comeback year. The decision was to make 2025 more inclusive by adding walking and running to the traditional bike riding component.
“By expanding our main event format into Walk, Run & Ride, we have an opportunity to accelerate support from both existing and new audiences in Augusta and beyond, including corporate teams and our partner institution Augusta University,” said Martyn Jones, President of PACELINE in a news release. “The event operations required to deliver this new format are substantial and made possible thanks to our founding partners, the Medical College of Georgia Foundation. It is their support that enables 100% of all participant-raised funds to be invested in innovative cancer research at the Georgia Cancer Center.”
Ian Mercier, CEO of the Medical College of Georgia Foundation said they are proud to invest in PACELINE with its mission to end cancer.
“The way PACELINE carries out this mission is two-fold. Firstly, it generates investment for grassroots cancer research through its own community of participants, partners & volunteers. Through actively participating in Paceline’s year-round movement, this broad community of individuals, organizations, and corporate teams collectively represent the community face of the Georgia Cancer Center. It is the combination of community-funded research leading to NIH grants, through annual activities like PaceDay, that positively affect the Georgia Cancer Center’s pathway to National Cancer Institute designation.”
The first PaceDay event was held in 2019. Since then, it has raised almost $1.7 million to support more than two dozen community-funded cancer research projects. That has resulted in more than $9 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which estimates that it will generate a more than $24 million economic impact on the region.
Despite its cancellation in 2024, PaceDay participants, teams, and local businesses still collected more than a quarter of a million dollars to present to GCC.
GCC Director, Dr. Jorge Cortes, told reporters the goal is to achieve designation from the National Cancer Institute.
“That is a really big grant that’s meant to show that we are doing a lot of research in the laboratory, community outreach, clinical trials, all of that,” he explained. “We need to expand our research productivity, recruit more faculty, and so on. This is why this seed money is so critical, because not only can we get more grants, but it’s very attractive to attract more faculty to come here and work at the Georgia Cancer Center.”
PaceDay 2025 is scheduled for October fifth. Registration begins March 27. In addition to walkers, runners, and bike riders, PACELINE is also asking for volunteers to staff rest stops along the route, and to be cheerleaders. More information is available at www.paceline.org
