Story of Hope ...from the chair  

Why do you participate in the Massey Challenge? It is an easy question that is asked to so many people that can have such a simple or complex answer.  

That answer could be “cancer affected my family.” My grandfather Poppop, my grandmother Granna, and my cousin Libby all have battled cancer in recent years.  You could say, “because cancer affected my friends.” Meg Rock, Kaity Kasper, Jen Mott, Billy Chenault, Melissa Hollerith, Julie Dillon, and JJ Marshall have all battled, and beat cancer.

Those are all answers that stick out to me when addressing the question, “why do you do the Massey Challenge? “ But for me, it goes far beyond that.  The Massey Challenge is a movement. It is a movement towards funding one of the top cancer institutions in the country, VCU Massey Cancer Center. It is for all the people that I have met during the past four years who have shared their story, their sorrow, their happiness, their part of the movement with me. The people at the 10k expo who said to make sure to wear sunscreen when explaining their skin cancer, or the little girl who wanted to write her own name on the board after beating cancer at the age 3. The people I talked to at the YMCA training teams who want to share why they wear their Massey t-shirt, or the simple “I love your shirt” greeting you get from another Challenger in training. It is also standing next to the hospital bed of a loved one losing his battle against this disease. 

When all of that happens, you don’t simply participate. You are a part of a movement, and when you are a part of the Massey Challenge, you take part ownership in that Challenge. You eat, breathe, and live the Challenge every day. 

There is no simple reason behind why I participate in the Massey Challenge. I believe I am the Massey Challenge, and so is everyone else that participates.  We are the movement. We are going to fight cancer, and we will win. 

We are the Massey Challenge.

-Worth Bugg