Two ultra endurance athletes of Team PHenomenal Hope, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting a
rare and incurable lung disease called pulmonary hypertension (PH), are in preparations to
travel to New Zealand to race the epic mountain bike race, The Pioneer. For six days beginning
on December 1, Drs. Patricia George and Hap Farber will race through mountainous terrain and
unknown weather conditions to raise funds and awareness for PH.
The journey around Queenstown and through New Zealand’s Southern Alps covers 433km (269
miles) with 12,540m (41,141 feet) of climbing and promises to be as challenging as it is
incredible. Participants must ride as a team and keep within two minutes distance of each
other.
“Racing for Team PHenomenal Hope in an epic event like The Pioneer means so much to us. We
see it as a chance to couple our passion for mountain biking with our calling to help patients
with this devastating disease,” said George, Team PH founder and PH specialist at National
Jewish Health in Denver, Colorado.
This will be the second time George and Farber take on The Pioneer. In January of 2016, the
duo, along with two other team members, not only completed the physical challenge, but also
raised more than $15,000 to support Team PH’s mission. Three years later, Team PH has grown
to have the means to award research grants and financially support unmet patient needs.
“On Team PH, we race for patients as part of our Let Me Be Your Lungs program. While we get
to choose our races, we know that our PH patients do not get to choose the mountains they
face everyday living with this disease,” George said. “We are honored to be able to do this in
the name of PH patients in New Zealand.”
People living with PAH often don’t look sick, but become tired and short of breath with
exertion. This makes basic activities like climbing stairs or playing with grandchildren a
challenge. Fortunately, in many countries, there are medications that help many patients, but
not all patients respond to therapy. When the disease progresses, it leads to heart failure, and
some patients require lung transplants to survive. Team PH athletes race for those who can’t in
the pulmonary hypertension community to make a difference.
Team PHenomenal Hope is based in Beloit, Wisconsin. As a charity, Team PH seeks to raise
awareness of PH, to fund medical research, and to implement programming that focuses on
helping patients, including removing patients from isolation, building community, and providing
hope.
Follow George’s and Farber’s race progress and fundraising at
charity.gofundme.com/team-ph-pioneer-nz. For more information about Team PH’s race toward a
cure, or to donate to the cause, visit www.teamph.org