This year's Prouty drew over 4,600 participants, a 10-percent increase from last year's participation, according to Jean Brown, executive director of Friends of Norris Cotton Cancer Center.
The Center's original goal, set last September, was to raise $2.25 million, Brown said. While the Prouty had raised only $1.93 million by press time, she added that the total will increase as participants' donations continue to come in.
"I expect us to end up, all told, at around $2 million," Brown said. "We think this is extraordinary and are thrilled to know that even in these difficult economic times, people are committed to fighting cancer and supporting this nationally recognized cancer center."
More than 400 students and community members who attended were able to participate by volunteering at the event or by fundraising, she said. Contestants were able to choose between biking 100, 50, 35 or 20 miles and walking five, 10, 15 or 20 kilometers.
The 35-mile route was a new addition this year and proved very popular, according to Brown.
"The real difference this year seemed to be in the numbers of people participating," she said. "It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and having the weather cooperate was amazing."
Twenty out of 26 Greek organizations had registered teams that participated in the race, Brown said. Overall, the participating Greek houses raised about $23,000, according to Cyrus Akrami '11, the undergraduate student volunteer coordinator for the event. Last year, fraternities, sororities and coeds raised approximately $17,000 dollars, Akrami noted.
"The Dartmouth College students who donate their time and participate in the event and raise money for cancer research has grown every year," Brown said. "The Greek societies and organizations have really adopted the Prouty, and at this point we couldn't put it on without their help."
Students had additional incentive to participate this year due to three $1,000-prizes offered by Wes Chapman '77 Tu'81. The rewards were given to the Greek houses that raised the most money, had the largest percentage of volunteers or had the highest number of students complete the 100-mile bike race, Akrami said, adding that the reward can be used for the house's social activities.
Theta Delta Chi fraternity won the award for most money raised by an individual Greek house, raising $6,660, according to Tim Dolan '11, service chair for Theta Delt. Dolan is a member of The Dartmouth Staff
"We talked about becoming involved in the Prouty as a house in our first meeting of the summer, and everyone was incredibly enthusiastic about it from the start," Dolan said. "As a house, we are grateful to be able to be a part of such a worthy cause. A few of us, including myself, have had relatives affected by cancer, so this really meant a lot to us."
Theta Delt tied with Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity for the award given to the house with most members completing the 100-mile bike race, also known as the "Iron Butt award," according to Akrami.
The student volunteer participation award had not been determined by press time.
The Prouty originally began in 1982, according to Brown, when four nurses from DHMC were so moved by an ovarian cancer patient, Audrey Prouty, that they promised to bike 100 miles to raise money for cancer. Prouty died just before the bike ride, but the nurses still raised $4,000, she said. The event now attracts thousands of students and community members each summer, according to Brown.
