June 15/09 19:17 pm - Team H&R Block-Kona Partners with Ian Fillinger in RAAM

Posted by on 06/15/09
 

Team H&R Block-Kona has joined forces with Ian Fillinger, one of Canada's top ultra distance cyclists, to help him achieve his goal of raising $250,000 to help find a cure for multiple sclerosis. The partnership is a natural fit for Team H&R Block-Kona that has been raising funds for MS research for six years by participating in the Rona MS Bike Tours and donating all proceeds from their Fort Langley Cyclocross race. Members are excited to support Ian Fillinger with their established road cycling team that also lends brand name recognition to the fundraising side of his project.

Paul Blanchette, board member of Team H&R Block-Kona, will attend the official project launch at the Kamloops, BC MS Society at #180-546 St. Paul Street on June 19th from 11am-1pm.

“Ian is preparing both on and off the bike in a professional manner that mirrors how we run our cycling team”, Blanchette says. “We are happy to do whatever we can to support him in his project to raise funds and awareness to find the cure for MS.”

Ian and Team H&R Block-Kona encourage all supporters and bicycle riders to attend the project launch to learn more about MS, the project, the race and to meet Ian and his support team members that make it all possible.

Team H&R Block-Kona is one of Canada's top cycling teams and along with their title sponsors H&R Block and Kona are committed to promoting the sport of cycling across Canada. The Team races at the elite level through focusing on the development of riders so that they can achieve their dreams of competing at the highest levels of the sport. The Team is dedicated to supporting their riders - many of whom have competed and won National Championships, Provincial Championships and numerous other events across Canada and the U.S, and who aspire to race and compete for a professional team. The team's roster of riders currently boasts national team members in road, track and cyclocross. They are also very proud of their strong community involvement, race organization and leadership activities.

"Performance, both on and off the bike, will be the key in developing, growing and flourishing this opportunity. Having a national mainstream sponsor like H&R Block and other national partners means the team will have to prove ourselves. Not just through winning, because you are going to win, but also through our cause or charity and through rider leadership and teamwork." says Bob Lougen - Senior Vice President, General Manager H&R Block Canada


Ian Fillinger's Race Across America to End MS culminates on June 19, 2010 when, with the encouragement of his wife Michelle, Ian will take on one of the toughest cycling challenges in the world: the Race Across America(RAAM).

At roughly 3,200 miles, the RAAM ultra-marathon bicycle race is one of the longest annual endurance cycling events in the world. Unlike most multi-day bicycle races, the RAAM has no stages; the clock runs non-stop from start to finish, with the rider cycling approximately 22 hours a day for eight to nine days.

The goal of Ian Fillinger's Race Across America to End MS is to raise $250,000 by aligning the personal challenge of competing in the most difficult road race in the world with the challenge that people with multiple sclerosis face each day. “I have never raced this far, but I will complete this race. I will not quit, ” Fillinger says.

For the next twelve months Ian and his dedicated team we will work against a detailed project schedule for training and fundraising. They intend to generate international awareness and donations through corporate presentations, internet technologies and local and national media coverage.

Ian is supported on every kilometer of every race by Michelle, who, when asked what it was like watching her husband enduring 1,200 kilometers of cycling, said, “Inspiring.” Her remark is especially meaningful because Michelle is a proudly competitive athlete herself and she lives with multiple sclerosis. “We are a team, and that is the foundation of this campaign.”

Please become a part of this important project. To donate or support Ian Fillinger's Race Across America to End MS please visit their website or call 250-314-0773 or 1-888-304-6622.

www.raceacrossamerica.ca