It will look like just the start of your average local 5K race.
With one notable exception.
Runners lining up for the start of the Be Kind 5K on April 5 in Holicong Park, Buckingham will see a pace cyclist a few yards in front of them.
Nothing unusual about that, except the rider happens to be Doylestown native Chris Baccash, a professional rider who just happens to be a brain cancer survivor.
It’s been nearly three years since Baccash, a Central Bucks East High School and Drexel University graduate, was first diagnosed with the hideous health condition.
The initial treatment required three operations and a lot of prayers.
Now, the recovery has gone so well that Keith Fenimore, director of the Be Kind race and manager of the Kin Center (for recovering patients) in Buckingham-Doylestown, has asked Baccash to do the pace honors in April.
“I was involved in bicycle racing at a professional level,” Baccash, 32, recalled in a telephone interview. Since his diagnosis, things have changed.
“Years go by and I’m slowly integrating more and more into this home community for me,” he said. “I got involved in volunteering in the (Doylestown) borough and helping with community organizations.”
The ordeal with cancer and the dedication to recovery is a story which should inspire people in Bucks County and beyond.
In June, 2022, Baccash was diagnosed with brain cancer and doctors told him it would take at least two, possibly three, operations to remove a sizable tumor.
Even before he reached the operating table, Baccash realized these moments were going to change his life forever.
“When I got my diagnosis, they tell you that you have brain cancer,” he said. “You’re not really feeling like you’ve got a lot of time to live.
“I think most people go one of two ways: They either try to charge forward and go the “I’m going to beat this” route or they’re totally overwhelmed.”
Baccash chose the former.
“For whatever reason, in retrospect, it was a little strange,” he said. “I was very charged up and very inspired.
“Those were some of the most inspiring and creative weeks of my life. I think when the stakes are high and you’ve got a lot on the line, sometimes we get to see the best in each other and the best in ourselves.”
He ended up writing his master’s thesis on exactly that.
“I didn’t know if I would be able to beat it,” he said. “You can die on the operating table for brain surgery. I knew that was in the cards.
“I was inspired to make the most of the time I have.”
It took some time to figure out a new life plan.
“So in between three brain surgeries and a few months of chemotherapy and radiation, I was really rechartering a life for myself,” he said. “Changing my career. I had moved and I was valueing things very differently than I was before.
“My training, my image as a professional bike racer was taking a far back seat to my relationships with my family, my friends and my home community in Doylestown.
“As a result, and this might be a little ironic, I’m much happier.”
Baccash and Fenimore met at a charity event and that’s how the bike pacer position came to pass.
“Kin is so honored to have Chris serve as our official ambassador this year,” Fenimore said. “He is an inspiration to all people, whether they are battling cancer or not. He exudes positivity and resilience. Having Chris really elevates our event. We’re eager for the community to meet him.”
Baccash got into biking at an early age.
“It was something I always wanted to do,” he said. “My older brother, Nick, got me interested in bike racing when he was in high school.
“We watched the Tour de France together. We followed bike racing together. When I got to college, I got myself a bike. And decided to try racing my junior year.”
The sport pretty much took over Chris’ life.
“I fell in love with it,” he said. “From late 2012 until 2021, that was pretty much my primary focus in life — trying to become the best bike racer I could be.
“For several of those years, I became totally myopic. I was neglecting a lot of the years of my life that lead to a healthy balanced life. Especially socially and doing things not connected to bike racing and training.”
After the diagnosis, he wanted to give competitive cycling one last shot. . .at least for now.
“I’m still very much interested in returning to bike racing,” he said. “I rallied a few of my teammates around me and got them into doing the hardest mountain bike race in the world, the Leadville 100-miler in Colorado.
“We go and do that. That’s sort of my departure from bike racing. That was the last race I’ve done. I immediately went to graduate school and tried to launch a new career as a helper.”
For his career, he’s transitioned from a position in finance to becoming a teacher in Doylestown. It seems like much more rewarding work.
He’s returned to Doylestown to live, reconnected with former school classmate Mary Grace Comber, and the two have decided to get married soon.
Safe to say, all this good fortune has provided a second chance at life. By helping others, he’s making the most it.
“When I was laying in a hospital bed a few days after my first brain surgery, thinking what my new life might be like,” Baccash said, “and this is what I wanted.
“I wanted to go in a direction of helping others. I really feel like I was experiencing the best of humanity in those few weeks when my life got turned around.”
Baccash was sitting on a park bench one day and thinking about what a doctor had said.
“He said, ‘go live your life,’+” Baccash recalled. “And that’s how I’ve been living.”>Race calendarSunday
With one notable exception.
Runners lining up for the start of the Be Kind 5K on April 5 in Holicong Park, Buckingham will see a pace cyclist a few yards in front of them.
Nothing unusual about that, except the rider happens to be Doylestown native Chris Baccash, a professional rider who just happens to be a brain cancer survivor.
It’s been nearly three years since Baccash, a Central Bucks East High School and Drexel University graduate, was first diagnosed with the hideous health condition.
The initial treatment required three operations and a lot of prayers.
Now, the recovery has gone so well that Keith Fenimore, director of the Be Kind race and manager of the Kin Center (for recovering patients) in Buckingham-Doylestown, has asked Baccash to do the pace honors in April.
“I was involved in bicycle racing at a professional level,” Baccash, 32, recalled in a telephone interview. Since his diagnosis, things have changed.
“Years go by and I’m slowly integrating more and more into this home community for me,” he said. “I got involved in volunteering in the (Doylestown) borough and helping with community organizations.”
The ordeal with cancer and the dedication to recovery is a story which should inspire people in Bucks County and beyond.
In June, 2022, Baccash was diagnosed with brain cancer and doctors told him it would take at least two, possibly three, operations to remove a sizable tumor.
Even before he reached the operating table, Baccash realized these moments were going to change his life forever.
“When I got my diagnosis, they tell you that you have brain cancer,” he said. “You’re not really feeling like you’ve got a lot of time to live.
“I think most people go one of two ways: They either try to charge forward and go the “I’m going to beat this” route or they’re totally overwhelmed.”
Baccash chose the former.
“For whatever reason, in retrospect, it was a little strange,” he said. “I was very charged up and very inspired.
“Those were some of the most inspiring and creative weeks of my life. I think when the stakes are high and you’ve got a lot on the line, sometimes we get to see the best in each other and the best in ourselves.”
He ended up writing his master’s thesis on exactly that.
“I didn’t know if I would be able to beat it,” he said. “You can die on the operating table for brain surgery. I knew that was in the cards.
“I was inspired to make the most of the time I have.”
It took some time to figure out a new life plan.
“So in between three brain surgeries and a few months of chemotherapy and radiation, I was really rechartering a life for myself,” he said. “Changing my career. I had moved and I was valueing things very differently than I was before.
“My training, my image as a professional bike racer was taking a far back seat to my relationships with my family, my friends and my home community in Doylestown.
“As a result, and this might be a little ironic, I’m much happier.”
Baccash and Fenimore met at a charity event and that’s how the bike pacer position came to pass.
“Kin is so honored to have Chris serve as our official ambassador this year,” Fenimore said. “He is an inspiration to all people, whether they are battling cancer or not. He exudes positivity and resilience. Having Chris really elevates our event. We’re eager for the community to meet him.”
Baccash got into biking at an early age.
“It was something I always wanted to do,” he said. “My older brother, Nick, got me interested in bike racing when he was in high school.
“We watched the Tour de France together. We followed bike racing together. When I got to college, I got myself a bike. And decided to try racing my junior year.”
The sport pretty much took over Chris’ life.
“I fell in love with it,” he said. “From late 2012 until 2021, that was pretty much my primary focus in life — trying to become the best bike racer I could be.
“For several of those years, I became totally myopic. I was neglecting a lot of the years of my life that lead to a healthy balanced life. Especially socially and doing things not connected to bike racing and training.”
After the diagnosis, he wanted to give competitive cycling one last shot. . .at least for now.
“I’m still very much interested in returning to bike racing,” he said. “I rallied a few of my teammates around me and got them into doing the hardest mountain bike race in the world, the Leadville 100-miler in Colorado.
“We go and do that. That’s sort of my departure from bike racing. That was the last race I’ve done. I immediately went to graduate school and tried to launch a new career as a helper.”
For his career, he’s transitioned from a position in finance to becoming a teacher in Doylestown. It seems like much more rewarding work.
He’s returned to Doylestown to live, reconnected with former school classmate Mary Grace Comber, and the two have decided to get married soon.
Safe to say, all this good fortune has provided a second chance at life. By helping others, he’s making the most it.
“When I was laying in a hospital bed a few days after my first brain surgery, thinking what my new life might be like,” Baccash said, “and this is what I wanted.
“I wanted to go in a direction of helping others. I really feel like I was experiencing the best of humanity in those few weeks when my life got turned around.”
Baccash was sitting on a park bench one day and thinking about what a doctor had said.
“He said, ‘go live your life,’+” Baccash recalled. “And that’s how I’ve been living.”>Race calendarSunday
Bucks County Roadrunners Club’s Winter Series Polar Bear 8-Miler, 9 a.m., Tyler State Park, Newtown-Richboro. Contact www.bcrrclub.com
