The New York City-based Verrazano Cycling Club have competed in the ADK Unite fundraiser for food pantries ever since 2021. The event kicks off today, and lasts all through May, as competitors see who can put up the most mileage, with proceeds going to local food pantries. (Provided photo)

SARANAC LAKE — For the next month, people from Lake Placid to New York City will be putting long miles on their bikes, running shoes and hiking boots, competing to see who can travel the furthest throughout May, all while raising money for food pantries around the Adirondacks.

Bike Adirondacks’ annual month-long “ADK Unite” event is a virtual walking, running and biking competition that raises thousands of dollars to support the food pantries that support local communities.

Bike Adirondacks founder Doug Haney said participants can register to compete any time through the month and can retroactively backlog their mileage in the leaderboard. People who use the fitness app Strava can link their account to the leaderboard to automatically get them uploaded.

He loves seeing people post photos of themselves adding to their score by walking their dog or getting together with friends for a group ride.

Information and registration can be found at bikeadirondacks.com.

Haney said ADK Unite gives the active community something to do during what’s usually a pretty “dicey” month for weather, and participants use it as inspiration to get out even when the weather isn’t optimal.

“I think that’s the coolest part about it, is seeing the way that it motivates people to get active during the month of May,” Haney said.

Participants run, walk, bike or hike, tracking their miles digitally on the event website as they compete for prizes donated by area businesses. People can also log miles on treadmills or stationary bikes.

Haney said LAKEfm and Adirondack 105 fire up business sponsors, and they’ve got 44 gift cards from local grocery stores, coffee shops and fuel companies for the winners. This year, the top mile producers will also have the ability to win a free entry into other events, like the Lake Placid Marathon and Half Marathon, Olga Memorial Footrace or the Tupper Lake Tinman.

Registration costs $25 for children, $40 for individual adults and $35 per person for teams of three to five people. Oftentimes, people donate more. Some people don’t compete in the event, but still donate.

“One hundred percent of every dollar generated is divided between 11 area food pantries stretching from St. Regis Falls to Schroon Lake,” Haney said.

Since ADK Unite started in 2020, it has generated more than $35,000 for food pantries throughout the Adirondacks.

Last year drew out 148 participants, who set a record for the event with a cumulative total of 34,206 miles, raising more than $8,000. The overall individual winner was Marco Tianquis, who put up 1,330.5 miles on his wheels.

Haney launched Bike ADK as a company in 2020, right as the coronavirus pandemic started and upended the active competition world, and the food pantry world. He developed the idea for ADK Unite with his friend Jim Williams from LAKEfm and Adirondack 105 in Lake Placid. They wanted a way for people to be active and safe during the pandemic, and were seeing food pantries getting “pounded” as they were getting heavy use, leading to empty shelves and long lines.

The event has grown in participants, dollars raised and number of food pantries supported. Haney said the need for food pantries has not waned.

“People tend to think of donating to a cause when things are bad,” he said. “But the thing that’s consistent about food pantries is that they need help all year-round, 24/7, 365 days a year. There’s always people who need support … especially in the rural environment that we live in.”

He said ADK Unite gives the pantries a reliable annual revenue stream. He said the food pantry volunteers tell him they have a consistent flow of food and other essential goods, but that they need cash for operating funds. The money from the event goes to things like electric bills, infrastructure maintenance or new shelves.

Because it’s a virtual event, people anywhere can participate. Haney said there’s a large group of cyclists in New York City who compete every year. Mike Petrosino, who has a home in Lake Placid, got his friends in NYC-based Verrazano Cycling Club to all join up after he learned about the event. This year, they’ll have 32 competitors split into eight teams.

“They always come up with funny names for their teams,” Haney said.

He said Petrosino hosts his cycling buddies in Lake Placid every year, riding the Adirondack hills and climbing Whiteface. Cycling mostly in the flatlands, Haney said this group usually takes the top spots in their category, but they never take the prize. They always pass the prize on.

“This event inspires my friends and the broader cycling community to lead a healthy lifestyle,” Petrosino said in a statement. “Most importantly, ADK Unite has helped me connect so many new riders with the Adirondacks in a way that allows them to learn about and give to the communities I love so much.”

Coakley Home and Hardware in Saranac Lake has supported the event since it began. At the hardware store’s Demo Days on May 9 and 10, a Friday and Saturday, it will have a bucket sale from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For every 5-gallon bucket purchased, $5 will be donated to ADK Unite. Plus, anything that fits in the bucket is 20% off. Last year, this bucket sale contributed $750 to ADK Unite.

The money from ADK Unite goes to support the Lake Placid Ecumenical Food Pantry; Saranac Lake Interfaith Food Pantry; Tupper Lake Community Food Pantry; Waverly Food Pantry in St. Regis Falls; JCEO in Black Brook; Jay Town Hall in Ausable Forks; Wilmington Ecumenical Food Pantry; Clifton-Fine Community Food Pantry in Cranberry Lake; St. Paul’s Food Pantry serving Vermontville, St. Armand and Brighton; Keene Food Pantry and Schroon Lake Food Pantry.

Haney said if there’s any local food pantries not benefiting from the event, they can contact him at doug@bikeadk.com.