“Team oN A Mission” is prepared to bicycle 192 miles in the 34th annual Pan-Mass Challenge. The fundraising event happens Aug. 3 and 4 and benefits the Dana Farber Cancer Institute through the Jimmy Fund.

The team honors Sarah and Chris Marchisio’s mother, who passed away from cancer in 2010, and the sibling’s father, who died of a heart attack in 2012.

The Marchisio’s father, Richard, died while training for the challenge.

“We’ve been best friends since junior high school. When his mom died, then his dad died, there was nothing else I could have done but join the team,” Cam Severino, 18, said about Chris.

The 12 member team is among 5,500 cyclists in the challenge, the country’s first charity bike-a-thon. According to organizers, it raises more money than any other athletic fundraiser in the nation.

This is both Cam and Chris’ first year riding. Chris is no stranger to the race though. The route passes his family’s house on Neck Road in Rochester. For years, he, his sister, and parents offered water and support to riders.

“Until my mom got sick we never really realized what the bike ride was for. We’re going to continue the tradition at the house,” Chris, 17, said. “Anything we can do to help out.”

The race begins in Sturbridge and ends in Provincetown.

The team, whose name emphasizes their mother Nancy’s initials, is made up of tri-town residents and their friends.

Team member Bill Tilden, Old Rochester Regional High School athletic director, is riding for the first time, too.

Tilden said he’s riding for his mother, who passed away from cancer in February. He said he was aware of Sarah’s ride from last year.

“I thought it was a great cause,” he said, adding his father is currently battling the disease with chemotherapy. He also lost a close a friend to cancer recently.

“Watching cancer take away somebody’s life is heartbreaking,” Tilden said.

To prepare for the ride, he’s been biking about 250 miles a week.

To participate, all team members had to raise $4,300. Tilden has reached out to family, friends, and co-workers.

Chris said 25 people had pledged to ride with the team. But the amount of money to be raised whittled the field to 12.

“It’s a lot of work to raise that much money, but it’s definitely worth the cause. That’s for sure,” he said.

Tilden agreed. “It’s a fantastic race because every dollar raised goes directly to Dana Farber. There’s no reason somebody shouldn’t donate five or ten dollars. Or more if you can afford it,” he said.

Maureen Mullen, of Rochester, isn’t a team member, but she is riding for the first time.

She decided to ride after losing a relative to cancer. Last year, Mullen and her husband cared for her father-in-law for a week before he died. The experience prompted her to ride.

“The decision was bittersweet. It was about taking this tragic event and doing something good about it,” she said.

As a child, Mullen’s mother took in her grandmother when she fell ill. When her father-in-law needed care: “It brought back a lot of memories…It’s been my experience that when family needs help, you take care of them. That’s when I knew I was going to commit to the ride.”

To help her train, Mullen’s husband gave her a bicycle for her birthday. Mullen said before committing to the Pan-Mass Challenge she rode for fun and exercise.

“I’m a recreational cyclists. I hadn’t done anything remotely close to 192 miles,” she said.

For years, Mullen and her family cheered the riders as they rode through town on High Street near her home.

The support she received from friends and family has been tremendous, she said.

“I thought it would be me on a bike riding alone, but it’s not. Everyone who has helped support me will be on that bike too,” Mullen said.

For more information or to donate to  Team oN A Mission, visit www2.pmc.org/profile/TG0112.