LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Hundreds of people will bike to beat cancer Saturday.

Bike to Beat Cancer begins Saturday morning at the Norton Cancer Institute Brownsboro. Rides go from 5 to 100 miles in the 14th year of the event.

John Mackey, a longtime volunteer for the event, has ridden in honor of family and friends lost to cancer for the past 12 years.

This year, Mackey is riding for a different purpose. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer earlier this year and will undergo surgery later this month.

He's now riding as a cancer patient but plans on riding in the future as a survivor. 

"This, for me, is the one community event that I'm totally sold out to," Mackey said. "Cancer is one of those things that's not a respecter of people. It's not a respecter of time, of space, of anything."

The event has raised more than $5 million for Norton Cancer Institute, and all the money raised has come from riders.

"Each rider has their own story, and that's what fuels them," said Anne Cannon, director of events for Norton Healthcare Foundation. "Cancer can become personal, not only for you, because you have a loved one. And it can affect you, yourself. I think that changes the game for a lot of people."

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