By Tyler Maheu, Staff Sportswriter
This year’s Prouty was one for the history books.
The July 11, 2026, edition of the Prouty was the annual event’s 45th. For this year, organizers set the fundraising target high; $12 million, two million more than 2025’s total of $10.2 million raised.
On Saturday, more than 4,700 donors, participants, and volunteers rallied not only to meet this goal but to beat it, raising $12,010,204 for cancer research and patient support programs at the Dartmouth Care Center. This marked the event’s highest-ever fundraising total and raised the event’s lifelong fundraising total to approximately $90 million.
“The most significant goal in the 45-year history of the Prouty was met with incredible engagement by our amazing Prouty community,” said Pat McBride, director of the Friends of Dartmouth Cancer Center, who organizes and hosts the multi-day event, in a press release. “Reaching our $12 million goal is a historic testament to the extraordinary generosity of our community and ensures that Dartmouth Cancer Center remains at the forefront of groundbreaking research and world-class patient care.”
According to the announcement, some of the Dartmouth Cancer Center’s Prouty-funded programs include attempting to reduce cancer-linked PFAS in the human body, the development of AI programs to assist surgeons in head and neck cancer operations, attempts to improve life-saving lung cancer screening for women in rural communities, and a new approach to deliver chemotherapy for brain tumors.
The Prouty’s website states that the event began back in 1982, when four Dartmouth Cancer Center nurses rode 100 miles through the White Mountains. They did so in honor of patient Audrey Prouty and to help raise money for cancer research.
Today, the Prouty is touted as northern New England’s largest family-friendly fundraising event, combining cycling, walking, rowing, golf and more to raise funds and awareness for life-saving research and critical patient and family support services at Dartmouth Cancer Center.
One of this year’s participants in the 3K walk was Dave Thomas from Lempster, New Hampshire, a cancer survivor. “This was my third time [participating],” he said. “The first year was tough. I was still healing from my surgery and trying to find my pace. The heat and humidity was a struggle, but the second year was a little easier.”
He continued, explaining how he prepared for this year’s event. “This year, I trained harder, and the weather was beautiful.”
Thomas said that in the first year he participated, he walked the trail alone, which added to the difficulty. But for the past two years, his son has walked with him. “Talking made the time go quickly,” he said. “It was great to have that support.”
His first-hand experience with the disease has led him to try to fight for a cure for others. “I do it to give back to the cause, the doctors, and research and find a cure for me,” he said. “I want it to be easy for others in the future. So much has been given to me. Every year, more money is raised to finance research and find cures for all types of cancer.”
