Curebound Cancer Challenge Races Toward Cancer Cures at UC San Diego

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UC San Diego welcomed the Curebound Cancer Challenge to campus on Aug. 2, drawing over 3,000 participants, including riders, runners, walkers, spin‑class participants and volunteers — all to support critical cancer research.

The Challenge is part of Curebound’s larger goal to invest more than $100 million across early-stage cancer studies anchored in San Diego, with the potential to spread nationally through scientific collaborations. This year’s event raised $3.3 million to help fund pioneering cancer research, translational trials and prevention efforts among San Diego’s top scientists and institutions including UC San Diego, Rady Children’s Hospital, Salk Institute, Sanford Burnham Prebys, La Jolla Institute of Immunology and Scripps Research. To date, the event has raised over $25 million toward Curebound’s larger investment of $50+ million for innovative cancer research.

Hosted on RIMAC Field, the event featured three scenic bike routes — 25, 50 and 75 miles — winding along the Torrey Pines coastline. Complementing the rides were a new 10K run, a family‑friendly 5K walk/run, spin classes, a spirited team village, live entertainment and community activities on RIMAC Field—all unified the mission to accelerate cancer research.

Beyond the active challenges, the event celebrated Curebound’s evolution from the longtime Padres Pedal the Cause into this year’s expanded format at UC San Diego, where the event’s first ride began in 2013. Join UC San Diego and Curebound next year for the 2026 Cancer Challenge on August 1, 2026.