STURBRIDGE, Mass. — The Pan-Mass Challenge brought together thousands of people from across the country this weekend for a bike ride that raises more money for charity than any other single event nationwide. 

For riders in the Pan-Mass Challenge, each mile is personal. 

"My father just got diagnosed, so he's actually going through chemotherapy right now at Dana Farber," Jason Reposa said. "I have to be here, there's no other place I'd rather be."

Reposa said he's living proof of life after a devastating diagnosis. He's come a long way from a time when it seemed as though the future was slipping away. 

"I was in my early 20s living a beautiful and wonderful life in New York City, and all of a sudden, testicular cancer," Reposa said. "It just hit me, and I was like 'Now what do I do?' I jumped into action and went for it, I got to the dctor and got it taken care of right away."

Others ride for a loved one lost years ago, carrying on and old tradition that keeps someone special close as time marches on.

"I started nine years ago, my former spouse came down with a series of cancers that ultimately took her life over an eight year battle," David Hazard said. "The same year that she passed away, one of my best friends and my aunt also passed away from cancer."

Hazard stumbled across the Pan-Mass Challenge back in 2014, and his first ride happened on an unusually cold day in the pouring rain. It wasn't enough to keep him away. 

"It's a rare thing in life to have a whole bunch of people try to do something together," Hazard said. "It's very emotional, and of course you talk, you ride, you slow down, you have conversations. Every single person, volunteers, usually people on the side of the road, everybody has the same story you do which is both really fascinating and also humbling."

Since 1980, the annual event has helped raise $831 million for cancer research and treatment with Dana Farber and the Jimmy Fund. 

"Friends of mine asked me to ride 15 years ago, and my dad had died about five years earlier," David Bores said. "It's been 15 years, everybody's got friends who have died of cancer. It happens every year, I keep adding names to my list."

Bob Vaillancourt has been riding since 2016, motivated to do so after his niece was diagnosed with brain cancer. He's also a survivor.

"My family gets together and tries to do this every year," Vaillancourt said. "We enjoy it so much, the camaraderie, the people on the road are just fantastic."

As of Saturday afternoon, this year's Pan-Mass Challenge raised $45 million for Dana Farber and the Jimmy Fund.