While scrolling on social media one day, Kirk Olson came across an ad that stopped him mid-scroll: cyclists riding past the New York City skyline and the words “500+ Miles. One Mission.”
“I did an MS 100 here in New York City about 10 years ago, and I enjoyed that experience,” Kirk explained. “I was looking for something similar that would also help me feel like I’m honoring my sister and all the people that I know who’ve been impacted by cancer. And so, I thought, ‘Oh, I’ve got to look into this.”
That ad was for Empire State Ride, a seven-day, 500+ mile journey from New York City to Niagara Falls that raises funds for cancer research at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and across the globe. Each summer, riders take on the challenge with one shared goal: to fuel new cancer research and find better treatment options for patients.
For Kirk, the decision to sign up started with one person in particular: his big sister, Vicki.
A Legacy That Made an Impact
Kirk is the youngest in his family, and his sister Vicki Olson Anderson, being 13 years older, was like a second mother to him.
“She had that nurturing mother kind of spirit, but also like a big sister who was my friend. She was one of those people who you know you can call for advice, to just listen or get whatever support that you need.”
Vicki made a monumental impact on Kirk’s life, inspiring him to double major in French and English after watching her learn French growing up, to take up crochet — one of her favorite hobbies and a sentimental way of giving gifts — and to always try to help people whenever he could, just as she did.
That final lesson of compassion and generosity has stayed with Kirk always, motivating him to look for opportunities to make a difference and inspiring him to take part in events like Empire State Ride.
“The way I always describe it to people is the grief is still there and it’s always going to be there, but the edges aren't as sharp.”
A Cancer Diagnosis that Changed Everything
In 2012, Vicki was diagnosed with an aggressive form of vulvar cancer. No one in the family expected how quickly everything would change.
Her oncologist explained that vulvar cancers don’t usually migrate above the midline of the body, however, hers spread rapidly and unexpectedly to other areas of her body.
“It was an aggressive cancer,” Kirk recalled. “It moved from being localized to systematic and metastasizing. It was only about a year between her diagnosis and her passing.”
Learning to cope with the sudden loss of such a prominent figure in his life was extremely difficult and now, thirteen years later, that grief hasn’t gone away.
“The way I always describe it to people is the grief is still there and it’s always going to be there,” Kirk said. “But the edges aren’t as sharp.”
This year, as Kirk turns the same age as his sister when she passed – 54 – that perspective feels especially powerful.
Channeling Loss Into Action
For Kirk, Empire State Ride is a way to turn his grief into something hopeful.
“The Empire State Ride just felt like this thing I could do to help all the people who are impacted by cancer — whether facing a diagnosis, having a family member going through treatment or facing the absence of someone we’ve lost,” he said. “I want to help raise funds to make it better for everyone who has to go through this.”
But Kirk isn’t just riding for Vicki. He is riding for many other family and friends affected by this disease, including his husband who is also a cancer survivor. He also rides in memory of his husband’s cousin, Anders Larson-Toich, who was diagnosed with a rare glioblastoma at 17 and passed away at 23. Though Kirk never met him, he knows that for his husband – who never had a brother – losing Anders was like losing one.
“Cancer has been this looming presence in my life for probably 30 or 40 years. It’s like this dark, terrible thing that has taken lives and could take more lives. I just want to do something to help lessen the possibility of its terrible impact on other people.”
Kirk has never ridden this far or taken on such an intense physical challenge, but he knows his purpose is far greater than any discomfort he’ll feel on the road. After witnessing the toll cancer takes on patients and the people who love them, he’s committed to fueling research that can spare others from the kind of loss and hardship he’s seen again and again.
In many ways, the ride is an extension of the lesson Vicki taught him years ago: when you have a chance to help someone, you do.
“This ride is going to be difficult for me,” Kirk said. “I’m going to have moments of struggle, discomfort or even pain. It’s nothing compared to what they went through.”
Fueling Hope Through Cancer Research
That desire to “lessen the possibility of the terrible impact on other people” comes down to one thing: funding better options.
Through Empire State Ride, the money raised supports Roswell Park’s clinical trials and early-stage research — especially for cancers and patient groups that don’t always receive enough attention or government funding. As someone who works in advertising, specifically in the research and insights sector, Kirk knows how easy it is to focus on the biggest numbers. But what drew him to fundraising for Roswell Park is the center’s commitment to the outliers: the rare cancers, the adolescents in between pediatric and adult care and the patients whose cases fall outside the norm.
Walking alongside his husband through the grief of losing his cousin as well as losing his own sister deepened Kirk’s understanding of how devastating outlier cancers can be and solidified his commitment to helping these often overlooked and understudied groups.
“In my work, I look at statistics all the time, but behind every number is a person. New effective treatments that help people with a diagnosis live longer or live better for whatever time they have left — that’s meaningful.”
Knowing that his miles can help spark new cancer treatments and give more families options and hope is what inspired Kirk to sign up for Empire State Ride. From here, he promises to keep pedaling forward — for Vicki, Anders and all cancer patients and survivors.
