CPMC Foundation Riding for Melanoma Research at CPMC

Give Now to Ride-On for Melanoma Research at CPMC.

In October of 2021, to benefit Melanoma Research at CPMC and honor the memory of his friend Shawn Price, Mark Seiler rode the Norra Mexican 500 - a two-day race of 500 miles in Ensenada, Mexico. Plus, Mark rode the Norra Mexican 1000 race in April of 2021 to benefit CPMC – read his exciting recap of that ride below!

October 16, 2021 marked the fifth anniversary of Shawn Price’s passing. Please consider making a gift as a tribute to Shawn’s winning spirit. Mark Seiler and the Price Family are encouraging friends, family, and anyone affected by melanoma or other deadly skin cancers to give generously to this campaign, towards the goal of raising at least $50,000 to directly support melanoma research, and name a space at CPMC’s Van Ness Campus to honor Shawn. Almost $30,000 has already been raised!

Recap of April 2021 Norra 1000 Mexican Race, by Mark Seiler

I thought I had a week to pack and get ready to fly to San Diego a few days before the race. I get a call from the shop that my 650r bike is STILL in Austin, TX, but the bike was supposed to be in Escondido, CA! I had an hour and a half to pack and catch a flight from Denver to Austin to get my bike and drive it in a rental truck to CA. 

After the first day of the race I am in 5^th place and didn’t feel I was pushing too hard. Race day two, I’m up at 4:00 am to the starting line for the long kicker day of 400 miles. I run it well and take 3rd in the hardest section over rock-hard gravel whoops - I bite the bullet and push hard here. I’m in 4^th place overall and feeling pretty good. 

We’re about 600 miles into the race on the night of day two, so I need to change my oil and go over the bike. I’m tired. On day two I hit a cement curb HARD at high speed going about 80 - a BIG HIT that kicks me up off the bike, but I stay on and don’t crash. My wheels are heavy duty, built for this kind of thing. The front wheel was tweaked but I couldn’t do anything about it out in the race. I have a second set of wheels so we replace the wheels and all is ready. 

Day three, race starts again, I’m in 4th place and the next 70 miles are wide open! I start to notice loud mechanical sounds coming out of the engine, but it is still running. I pull over to look at the bike and notice my oil drain plug is gone. I’ve been running without oil for at least 30 miles. The people in the pits go running off to make me a drain plug in the middle of nowhere, pour fresh oil into the bike and get me back into the fight.  

I make it all the way to 7 miles before the finish line of day three. I can see the Sea of Cortez, and the spot where Shawn and I took that photo in 2001 is about ¼ mile away, the bike coughs, then locks up the rear wheel as I’m going about 60. I get off the road, it is locked up for good - the damage from having no oil fried the motor.

Five teams stopped to offer me lobster and tenderloin sandwiches, margaritas, water, lotto tickets, whatever I needed. I told them the tow truck is on the way. I crossed the finish on day three in the back of a pick-up truck with Shawn’s 650r.  I'm out of the race. I’ll be back.

On October 25, 2016, Shawn Price passed away at the age of 53 after a short battle with melanoma cancer. Shawn Price lived life large and at full speed whether it was racing across the desert, leading in the tech world, or as a passionate family man. Shawn was a pioneering software executive as the SVP of Cloud at Oracle Corporation, EVP Cloud at SAP, President of Zuora and CEO at Savvion. In his personal life, he continuously sought to excel at new adventures and sports and any challenge that came his way, including winning the 2005 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona endurance sports car race in a Porsche GT3; completing the 7,000 mile Paris to Dakar Rally endurance motorcycle race in Northern Africa; and winning the 2002 Baja 1000, a 1,000 mile motorcycle race in the Baja California desert.

When Shawn was diagnosed with undetected late-stage melanoma, the CPMC team of Mohammed Kashani-Sabet, M.D., Medical Director, CPMC Cancer Center and Center for Melanoma Research and Treatment; Brian Andrews, M.D., Chair of CPMC Department of Neurosciences; and Ari Baron, M.D., Chief of CPMC Division of Hematology Oncology provided Shawn with innovative treatment options and unparalleled patient care.

Your Gift Will Make an Impact

Give Now to help CPMC discover and test effective new treatment options for melanoma. "We have the potential to significantly accelerate the evolution of personalized cancer care.” — Mohammed Kashani-Sabet, M.D., Medical Director, CPMC Cancer Center and CPMC’s Center for Melanoma Research and Treatment