SAN DIEGO -- The Padres have announced an expansion of their partnership with Pedal the Cause on Saturday. The annual cycling fundraiser, which raised $1.3 million for cancer research and treatment centers in San Diego last year, has been renamed "Padres Pedal the Cause."
The partnership means the Padres will now take on a more prominent role in planning and executing the event, which will take place in November.
"We created Pedal the Cause as a way for our San Diego community to raise money for important cancer research that otherwise might go unfunded by the government," said founder Bill Koman, a two-time cancer survivor. "Partnering with the Padres will expand that reach and help fast-track the research collaborations that will hopefully lead to a cure."
This year's cycling event will take place Nov. 12-13 and will begin and end at Petco Park, with participants biking from 12 to 162 miles, along with fundraising and donating. Pedal the Cause has raised more than $2.7 million since it began in 2013 and has funded 10 cancer research projects across the city.
"Being touched in some way by this horrific disease is something we all have in common," Padres president Mike Dee said in a statement. "It's going to take every one of us coming together for the fight of our lives to find a cure, and that's Pedal's mission.
"That's why the Padres organization is so proud to join forces with Pedal the Cause. Together, we are committed to growing this event, raising more money, and keeping those funds here in San Diego to support the world-class cancer research that takes place in our community."