Latest news with #DCCXV
CBS News
22-02-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Thousands show up for Dolphins Cancer Challenge in 15th year of NFL's largest fundraiser
Local News CBS News Miami and thousands of others walked, ran and rode around South Florida for DCC XV on Saturday. Dolphins Cancer Challenge XV 2025 Dolphins Cancer Challenge XV 2025 Dolphins Cancer Challenge XV 2025 Dolphins Cancer Challenge XV 2025 (From left to right) CBS News Miami's Shane Hinton, Chelsea Jones, Lissette Gonzalez, Morgan Rynor and Nikiya Carrero hand out medals to DCC XV participants. Dolphins Cancer Challenge XV 2025 Dolphins Cancer Challenge XV 2025 Dolphins Cancer Challenge XV 2025 Dolphins Cancer Challenge XV 2025 Dolphins Cancer Challenge XV 2025 Dolphins Cancer Challenge XV 2025 Dolphins Cancer Challenge XV 2025 Dolphins Cancer Challenge XV 2025 Dolphins Cancer Challenge XV 2025 Dolphins Cancer Challenge XV 2025 Dolphins Cancer Challenge XV 2025 Dolphins Cancer Challenge XV 2025 Dolphins Cancer Challenge XV 2025
Miami Herald
20-02-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Cote: 15 years later, Dolphins Cancer Challenge is the life-saving legacy of Jim Mandich
Jim Mandich was dying, and he knew it. Bile duct cancer was taking his life, by degrees. It was aggressive, and the prognosis was grim. I last saw Mandich in the Miami Dolphins lockerroom after a game in the midst of the 2010 season. I knew he was battling cancer but did not then know any details, or that he would leave us by the following spring at age 62. He looked thin. I asked how he was doing. He answered with a wan smile and two words that had a haunting double meaning I've never forgotten. 'Never better,' he said. The Dolphins were then planning a fundraiser in Mandich's honor to raise money for cancer research. The event would be in November of that year, starting at the football stadium. It would be a 170-mile bike ride over two days. Mandich, weakened by the cancer, rode only a ceremonial lap around the stadium. 'You could tell how gaunt he was, but he was sure as hell determined he was gonna be there at the start,' Michael Mandich, his son, recalled Wednesday. 'And he was there at finish line.' It was the dying and death of Mandich, the Dolphins glory-days tight end and popular longtime local broadcaster, that inspired what would become the annual Dolphins Cancer Challenge, and the 15th edition -- the DCC XV -- is this Saturday. Because of Mandich and in his eternal memory has grown a South Florida institution in cancer research, with the Dolphins out front in showing other professional sports teams how best to serve the community that supports them. The Dolphins Cancer Challenge is now the NFL's largest team-affiliated fundraiser as it celebrates its 15-year milestone having raised more than $75 million since 2010. (In 2020 the Dolphins pledged to reach the $75M goal by 2026 and did it two years early, in '24.) All participant-raised funds go directly to the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami to fund lifesaving cancer research. That first event in 2010 saw some 400 trailblazing participants raise $533,000. In 2024, the DCC had more than 6,700 participants and raised about $12.5 million, both records that they hope to top on Saturday. Those involved may do so as individuals or as part of corporate teams or personal teams. Every year, hundreds of cancer survivors are among the multitude of supporters. The Challenge began as a cycling-only event held during the NFL season, with participants biking 170 miles over two days. And credit Dolphins president and CEO at the time, Mike Dee, for getting behind the idea. It now is held annually each February and has evolved to four different distances in cycling from 13 to 99 miles, plus a 5K (3.1-mile) walk or run. The event has enjoyed the wide support of the franchise itself, ownership to players to staff. Head coach Mike McDaniel is peddling a bike every year. Players Jaelan Phillips and Braxton Berrios serve on the organization's board. Prominent alumni including Hall of Famers Dan Marino and Zach Thomas will ride Saturday. Several ex-Dolphins playing for rival teams also return for the event. One, Bills' receiver Mack Hollins, rides 99 miles for the cause every year and will again Saturday. Mandich's son Michael, now 41, helped run the event in its early days and still participates every year. He leads Team Mad Dog, named after his late father's nickname. 'It had a special feeling even from the beginning, and it quickly took off,' he says of the event. 'It has a Field of Dreams type of attitude. It's hard for any living soul to not know a person who's been affected by cancer.' Today, the chair of the DCC's board of directors is Elizabeth (Liz) Jenkins, the widow of Jason Jenkins, the former Dolphins senior vice president of communications and community affairs who died unexpectedly of a blood clot in August 2022. The annual Cancer Challenge was dear to him, but Liz was taken aback when soon after his death the club invited her to take over leadership of the event. 'It was probably the best yes I ever said besides saying yes to [Jason,],' she told us Wednesday. The Dolphins Cancer Challenge, her third as chair, is her Super Bowl. She feels that running it enables her to grow her husband's legacy of commitment to the community. 'Jason wanted to bring people together, people from all walks of life,' she said. 'He was always about giving back to the community. And cancer doesn't look at age or socio-economics or anything. It can affect anybody.' Jason had signed up to bike the 99-mile event just before he died. His widow took his place. 'It was the hardest thing physically I had ever done,' she said. 'I'm a crossfitter, but at about 80 miles I hit a wall.' She pushed through at the finish line, where emotion overwhelmed her. The physical pain. The accomplishment. The still-raw grief over her loss. 'I burst into tears. I could not stop crying.' As Liz Jenkins works to nurture her late husband's legacy of community service, Michael Mandich can relate. Jim Mandich was an accomplished athlete, a star at Michigan who played his entire 1970s NFL career with the Dolphins before a final season in Pittsburgh. He helped win Super Bowl rings in Miami's 1972 Perfect Season and again in '73. He might have been even better in broadcasting, player, as a radio sports-talk host for WIOD and later for WQAM, also doing color commentary on Dolphins radio broadcasts. But his most enduring legacy may be that he inspired the Dolphins Cancer Challenge that celebrates its 15th year Saturday. 'There's a generation that remembers my father from football, or maybe as announcer, but that '72 season was 53 years ago,' says Michael. 'Those memories will fade. But in another 15 or 20 or 30 years from now this event will still take place and perhaps hundreds of millions of dollars will have been raised largely inspired by my father. What better memory would anyone ever have for him?'
CBS News
14-02-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Dolphins Cancer Challenge returns to South Florida. Here's what you need to know for DCC XV
MIAMI — Thousands of people are expected to walk, run and ride throughout South Florida this year as part of the Dolphins Cancer Challenge. The annual event, which will be in its 15th year, raises funds for innovative cancer research at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, a part of UHealth — the University of Miami Health System. DCC XV, which the Miami Dolphins organization sponsors, is the No. 1 fundraiser in the NFL. Last year, DCC XIV raised $12 million with the support of 6,000 participants and over 400 of them were living proof that these funds went on to help save lives. The DCC's purpose is to improve people's lives through financial support for innovative cancer research at Sylvester. Ranked among the top 50 of U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals in 2022, Sylvester is South Florida's only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center. The Dolphins' leadership has pledged that the Dolphins Cancer Challenge would raise $75 million by the end of 2026, which they have already raised so far since the event began in 2010. Here's everything you need to know about DCC XV. When and where is DCC XV? Dolphins Challenging Cancer is held every February at the Miami International Autodrome facilities at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. This year, the annual event will be on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, starting at 4:30 a.m. for participant packet pickup and ending around 4 p.m. as the last participants cross the finish line in the longest route. Though registration is closed for participants, anyone can still attend DCC XV as a spectator. Tickets start at $15 for people between ages 10 and 20, and $40 for anyone 21 and over. Children under 9 years old can attend Dolphins Cancer Challenge for free but every guest must have their own ticket. Visit to get your tickets today. What are the DCC XV routes? DCC XV will feature five different routes, four are named in honor of different Miami Dolphins players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, that circumnavigate South Florida. The new rides will be accompanied by an adjusted event timeline for participants to have a more inclusive finish-line experience. Here is a breakdown of each route: DCC 5K: Presented by Amazon, the 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) route will wind through the Miami Grand Prix racetrack from Turns 4 to 10. This race begins at 10:45 a.m. Dan Marino Ride: Presented by Aetna, the 13-mile route has become the largest of all the races the DCC hosts. Walkers, runners and riders will travel throughout Miami Gardens. This race begins at 10 a.m. Larry Csonka Ride: Presented by MyVenue, the 39-mile route is the only point-to-point option the DCC hosts, starting at the University of Miami and ending at Hard Rock Stadium. The route features scenic Miami-Dade areas, including Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Brickell and Biscayne Boulevard. Participants will go over the Julia Tuttle Causeway overlooking the Venetian and Sunset Islands, and onto Miami Beach, heading north on Collins Avenue, through Surfside and Bal Harbour before reaching the home of the Dolphins in Miami Gardens. This race begins at 8:30 a.m. Zach Thomas Ride: President by Guardant Health, this 54-mile route is one of two that encompass both Broward and Miami-Dade Counties. Participants begin their first 10 miles heading east toward Golden Beach before heading north for the next 16 through Downtown Fort Lauderdale and Fort Lauderdale Beach. Then, they travel through Hugh Taylor Birch State Park and Las Olas Boulevard before arriving at State Road 84. The second half of the route takes participants through Davie, Cooper City, Pembroke Pines and Miramar before returning to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. This race begins at 8 a.m. Jason Tyler Ride: As the longest route at just under 100 miles, participants will ride throughout all of South Florida. The 99-mile route kicks off at Hard Rock Stadium, taking participants through Miami, Coconut Grove, Brickell and Biscayne Boulevard. Then, they'll ride over the Julia Tuttle onto Miami Beach, before riding north on Collins up to Surfside. From there, riders will traverse Downtown Fort Lauderdale and Fort Lauderdale Beach, and take a lap through Hugh Taylor Birch State Park and Las Olas before taking SR-84 back to Miami Gardens. This race begins at 6 a.m. How to donate to DCC XV Whether you're running or riding in the race or supporting someone who is, there are several ways to donate toward cancer research. Online: People can donate online via credit card or PayPal by either registering to create their own fundraising page or finding a DCC participant to donate to. You can also send your donations through CBS News Miami's fundraising page as well. Venmo/Apple Pay: Click here to donate through your mobile device. Mail: Donors can send a check(s) with a contribution form to Dolphins Cancer Challenge and mail them to 347 Don Shula Drive, Miami Gardens, FL 33056. Phone: People can also donate by calling (305) 943-6799. The phone line is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Gifts of Securities or Bank Wire: DCC does accept gifts of stocks and securities as donations. To review transfer instructions, contact DCC Director Abbey Sutton by calling (305) 943-6684 or emailing asutton@ Matching Gifts: Your employer may match your contributions to DCC. When making online contributions, search for your company to see if you are eligible for matching funds. In-Kind Gifts: As needed, Dolphins Cancer Challenge accepts Gift-In-Kind from donors to help offset operational expenses. If interested in becoming an in-kind donor, email ridedcc@ All dollars raised directly fund cancer research at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dolphins Cancer Challenge is a 501c3 Organization (Federal Tax ID # 45-4808311), meaning that any gift is considered tax-deductible. Please consult your tax advisor for more information. Gift receipts will be issued automatically via email for all online gifts.
