MAINE (AP)—
A virtual fundraiser held by the American Lung Association has raised more than $550,000 for coronavirus research.
The association said it raised the money via The Trek Across Maine, which attracted 1,261 cyclists from California to Maine. The trek is usually a three-day, 180-mile (290-kilometer) cycling event. This year, because of the virus, there was no physical event.
The American Lung Association said money from the fundraiser will also be used for lung disease prevention efforts. Jeff Seyler, chief division officer of the American Lung Association, said organizers “certainly weren’t going to let a lung-related virus stop our event.”
The riders in the event ranged in age from 7 to 84. L.L. Bean was the top fundraising team at more than $36,000, while the top raising individual was Shawn Sabine of Lexington, Massachusetts, at more than $15,000.
The cycling event itself usually happens on Father’s Day weekend.
