Starting Saturday, June 10, the Castaways Against Cancer will embark on their 24th yearly trek to combat arguably the world’s most hated illness.
And as if the trip some would call insane isn’t enough, for the first time, the group is celebrating a “triathlon” of sorts – kayakers, bikers and even a pair of ultramarathon runners will traverse more than 500 miles raising money for cutting-edge treatments and research through the University of Miami’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Striking a solid partnership with the center in 2020, the organization announced a five-year, $1.5 million pledge to the research institute on World Cancer Day in February 2022, with the University of Miami promising to match donations 50 cents on the dollar. Within the past year, the team is already ahead of schedule, raising $225,000 and hoping to tack on another $25,000 before this year’s paddle is over. And since the group’s inception in 2000, the Castaways have amassed more than $2 million in donations, paddling more than 3,600 miles in the process.
Projects funded by Castaways donations within the last year include research to enhance the activity of certain tumor suppressor genes, new therapies for blood cancers, and investigations into new therapeutic targets that determine resistance to endocrine therapies in breast cancer.
The 2023 “Ridiculous Stunt Tour” is the Castaways’ newest endeavor to honor their aggressive pledge. On Saturday, a team of paddlers – the original “castaways” – will launch from “Castaway Beach,” as declared by the City of Miami. Their 160-mile journey stretches from Miami’s Virginia Key to Key West’s Simonton Beach, where the crew will make landfall on Friday, June 16. Leaving that Friday morning, a team of cyclists who joined the Castaways in 2020 will make the most comparable land-based journey in a single day – a grueling 170-mile spin. And departing on Thursday, ultramarathoners Vince Yllanes and Paige Douglass will trade off running 85-mile legs to complete the entire journey on foot.
Marathon resident, breast cancer survivor and paddling legend Suzy Curry – crowned “Mayor of the Keys” on the Castaways’ website – will pass the 1,000-mile mark with the organization as she joins the kayak team for the 110-mile Keys portion of their journey.
While most athletes dedicate their yearly trip to a particular individual, Curry said hers will be dedicated by day – the first day for her friends, including Nancy Miller and Carol Gross, who passed away from lymphoma and brain cancer, respectively; the second day to those currently battling all forms of the disease, including the Weekly’s own Anneke Patterson; the third to her “breast cancer sisters,” remembering her own diagnosis and subsequent fight in 2011; the fourth to children fighting pediatric cancers; and the fifth in memory of Castaways founder Steve O’Brien’s mother, Joyce.
“I wasn’t going to do the trip this year, but my friend passed,” she told the Weekly. “She and her husband had always been longtime sponsors, and that broke my heart.
“You can put it in the paper: cancer sucks,” she continued. “We try to light a candle instead of cursing the darkness. You can’t say being on the water is like going through cancer, but the intensity, the despair, and the endlessness of it, it’s a way to compare to the hardship of cancer. And there’s a light at the end of the tunnel when you come ashore and celebrate survivorship.”
The Castaways invite the public to join them at their kayaker landing on Friday, June 16 at 2 p.m. at Key West’s Simonton Beach, followed by the cyclists’ arrival at 5 p.m. and a closing ceremony from 7:15 to 9:30 p.m. at the Hyatt Centric Key West. For more information, including donation opportunities, research studies and trip reports, visit castawaysagainstcancer.org.
