The Texas 4000 Story

You may or may not know the origin of Texas 4000. This season we wanted Chris Condit, Texas 4000’s founder to tell you the story in his own words. While the program has evolved, the mission has never wavered. The team spreads Hope, Knowledge and Charity across the continent as they fight cancer every mile.

“The holidays can be a tough time for someone living with cancer and for his or her family. I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma just after my 11th birthday and I spent the next eleven months undergoing treatment at Ochsner Cancer Center near my hometown in Louisiana.

I was fortunate. I had a good prognosis and my treatments at Oschner Cancer Center enabled me to get healthier and stronger. As I was going through treatment and progressing, I saw others my age and younger who were also fighting cancer but were not doing as well. This troubled me deeply, even after I was declared in remission the Christmas following my diagnosis. (It was the best Christmas ever!)

For the next 10+ years I thought about what I could do to make an impact and truly move the needle in cancer research and prevention. As a survivor, I felt an overwhelming obligation to do something and I knew that friends and family that supported me and their loved ones with cancer wanted to help as well. I just didn’t know what that would look like. Whatever it was, it needed to be BIG.

Along with my girlfriend Mandy (who later became my wife), we started Texas 4000 for Cancer during our junior year at the University of Texas in Austin. We raised funds for cancer research and spread awareness for cancer prevention by cycling from Austin, Texas to Anchorage Alaska.

Fast forward 16 years and Texas 4000 for Cancer is still the longest annual charity bike ride in the world. In 2013 we added the Ozarks Route, which rides through the ‘cancer belt’, the portion of the United States with the highest rates of cancer.

Some of the research projects and support services you have helped bring to life across North America include:

  • Research at the world-renown MD Anderson Cancer Center
  • Research at the University of Texas Biomedical Engineering
  • Safe-clean housing in Colorado and New Mexico for immune-compromised patients to stay after they receive a life-saving treatment.

For me, one of the most meaningful grants Texas 4000 made was to Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans in 2017 to fund transportation for underserved patients. My former physician, now chief of radiation oncology, Dr. Troy Scroggins, was in attendance for our grant presentation.

Dr. Scroggins related that he tells his oncology staff that not only are they working to save the life of a child with cancer for today, but are also restoring that child’s future and you never know if they’ll grow up to found a cancer fighting organization that raises millions for cancer research. His kindness and compassion made a strong impression on me, and I was so proud to be able to help him extend this kindness to others.”

Will you join us this holiday season to continue to help make possible these and other groundbreaking cancer research and prevention programs and help make a resounding impact in the lives of people who are still on their cancer journey? Make your donation HERE.