July 24, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO - On Friday afternoon (July 18), former UMass track and field standouts Jon Korhonen (Gardner, Mass.) and Andy McCarron (Lunenburg, Mass.) completed their cross country charity cycling fundraiser as they rolled across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The pair logged over 3,500 miles as they rode from Boston to San Fran in 35 days raising over $14,000 for the Children's Hunger Fund. The pair will spend some vacation time in San Francisco before returning back to Amherst for a welcome back party on August 16.

The long cross country route from Boston took the pair through New York across the Catskills then on through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, north through Iowa and then onward through Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and finally to the Pacific Ocean, California and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Along the way, Korhonen and McCarron camped and stayed overnight with friends and family after averaging roughly 100 miles per day.

The "Thank You" celebration slated for Aug. 16 will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the UMass Campus Center. Registration for the celebration can be made at Korhonen and McCarron's web site, http://people.umass.edu/amccarro/.

More than 200 different donors have contributed to the cause with over $14,000 raised by the trip for the Children's Hunger Fund with all the proceeds being donated.

Since 1991, Children's Hunger Fund has been serving children in need across America and around the world. Over the past 16 years, CHF has distributed more than $700 million in aid, bringing hope to children in more than 70 countries worldwide. In 2005, CHF worked domestically to assist thousands of Hurricane Katrina victims. To learn more about the Children's Hunger Fund, visit www.childrenshungerfund.org.