{"id":111218,"date":"2026-10-05T16:38:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T20:38:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/?p=111218"},"modified":"2026-10-05T16:39:07","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T20:39:07","slug":"mary-washington-alum-cycles-cross-country-and-campus-walk-for-a-cure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2026\/10\/05\/mary-washington-alum-cycles-cross-country-and-campus-walk-for-a-cure\/","title":{"rendered":"Mary Washington Alum Cycles Cross-Country \u2013 and Campus Walk \u2013 for a Cure"},"content":{"rendered":"<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><section class=\"wp-block-umw-hero alignfull umw-custom-block umw-hero umw-hero--dark-text umw-hero--media-float-right umw-hero--white umw-hero--with-no-media umw-hero--with-no-content\"><div class=\"umw-hero__inner\"><div class=\"umw-hero__media\"><\/div><div class=\"umw-hero__title\"><div class=\"container\"><div class=\"umw-hero__title__wrapper\"><h1 class=\"umw-hero__title__header\">News<\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section><h2 class=\"alignwide wp-block-post-title\">Mary Washington Alum Cycles Cross-Country &ndash; and Campus Walk &ndash; for a Cure<\/h2><div class=\"wp-block-group umw-news-author-credit is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-date\"><time datetime=\"2026-10-05T16:38:19-04:00\">October 5, 2026<\/time><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">by<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author-name\">Jill Laiacona<\/div><\/div><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pat McAleer &rsquo;89 remembers being in college when the bricks were laid to make the University of Mary Washington&rsquo;s Campus Walk.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He&rsquo;ll ride that same route when he visits his alma mater Oct. 7 during the final stretch of his cross-country cycling journey &ndash; spanning more than 4,000 miles &ndash; to support research for type 1 diabetes (TD1). His daughter, Mary Kate, now a registered nurse, was diagnosed with the condition at age 10.<\/p><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"610\" height=\"1024\" data-attachment-id=\"111220\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2026\/10\/05\/mary-washington-alum-cycles-cross-country-and-campus-walk-for-a-cure\/unknown-8-3\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/10\/Unknown-8-1.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"942,1581\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta='{\"aperture\":\"0\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"0\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"0\",\"iso\":\"0\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0\",\"title\":\"\",\"orientation\":\"0\",\"alt\":\"\"}' data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Pat McAleer &amp;#8217;89 is cycling cross-country to raise awareness and support research for type 1 diabetes, which his daughter, Mary Kate, has navigated since childhood. Photo courtesy of Pat McAleer. &lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/10\/Unknown-8-1-610x1024.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/10\/Unknown-8-1-610x1024.jpg\" alt=\"A man in a red windbreaker with his packed bicycle on a beach on a rainy day.\" class=\"wp-image-111220\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.5957160479982057;width:284px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/10\/Unknown-8-1-610x1024.jpg 610w, https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/10\/Unknown-8-1-179x300.jpg 179w, https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/10\/Unknown-8-1-768x1289.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/10\/Unknown-8-1-915x1536.jpg 915w, https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/10\/Unknown-8-1.jpg 942w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pat McAleer &rsquo;89 is cycling cross-country to raise awareness and support research for type 1 diabetes, which his daughter, Mary Kate, has navigated since childhood. Photo courtesy of Pat McAleer. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McAleer was inspired to take this trip to transform his family&rsquo;s experiences into an opportunity to spread awareness about TD1, he noted on his website, which chronicles his three-month trek that will end at the Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach. &ldquo;Not as a cyclist, but as a father who believes that with enough collective determination, we can find a cure.&rdquo;<\/p><div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Determination shaped his college experience from his first visit to campus during high school. The late Senior Vice President Emeritus H. Conrad Warlick, who then worked in admissions, spent an hour helping him map out a plan to earn his college degree.<\/p>\n<\/div><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&ldquo;He was incredibly instrumental in my decision to come to Mary Washington,&rdquo; said McAleer, who grew up in Annandale, Virginia. He took Warlick&rsquo;s advice and spent a semester shoring up his grades in community college before joining what was then known as the Blue Tide, which became the Eagles in 1986.<\/p><div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He majored in business administration but loved the liberal arts courses he took. His favorite class was taught by late civil rights leader and history professor James L. Farmer Jr.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&ldquo;Those lectures were life lessons,&rdquo; McAleer said, recalling how Farmer&rsquo;s stories about the civil rights era and the Freedom Riders, who persevered in their quest for justice, resonated with him. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m now amazed that I had the opportunity to listen to him in person.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McAleer worked in residence life and hung out at campus hotspots like the Pub and the C-Shoppe. He also served as co-captain of the men&rsquo;s lacrosse club team when it became a varsity program.<\/p><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"534\" height=\"778\" data-attachment-id=\"111221\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2026\/10\/05\/mary-washington-alum-cycles-cross-country-and-campus-walk-for-a-cure\/unknown-39\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/10\/Unknown.jpeg\" data-orig-size=\"534,778\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta='{\"aperture\":\"0\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"0\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"0\",\"iso\":\"0\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0\",\"title\":\"\",\"orientation\":\"0\",\"alt\":\"\"}' data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Pat McAleer in front of Brent House at Mary Washington in 1987. He said riding a bicycle was &amp;#8220;freedom on two wheels&amp;#8221; while he was growing up. Photo courtesy of Pat McAleer. &lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/10\/Unknown.jpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/10\/Unknown.jpeg\" alt=\"A photo of a man in the late 1980s standing in front of Brent House with his bicycle at Mary Washington College.\" class=\"wp-image-111221\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.6863905325443787;width:287px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/10\/Unknown.jpeg 534w, https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/10\/Unknown-206x300.jpeg 206w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 534px) 100vw, 534px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pat McAleer in front of Brent House at Mary Washington in 1987. He said riding a bicycle was &ldquo;freedom on two wheels&rdquo; while he was growing up. Photo courtesy of Pat McAleer. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&ldquo;We got clobbered in our first game and went 0-14 that year,&rdquo; he said. Slowly, the team began racking up a few wins in its second season. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s nice to see how far the program has come.&rdquo;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After graduation, he began a decades-long career in financial planning in Richmond, while pursuing his passion for cycling. &ldquo;For me, riding a bicycle was even better than getting a driver&rsquo;s license,&rdquo; McAleer said. &ldquo;It was freedom on two wheels.&rdquo;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then, his daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, where the body doesn&rsquo;t produce enough insulin.<\/p><div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&ldquo;What many people don&rsquo;t understand is this is an autoimmune disease that requires constant vigilance,&rdquo; he said, noting its differences from type 2 diabetes, which mainly affects older adults. &ldquo;Diet and lifestyle aren&rsquo;t a factor.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He and wife Molly became &ldquo;human pancreases,&rdquo; he said, helping Mary Kate manage her symptoms, give herself insulin shots and check her blood sugar hourly. They found support and resources through Breakthrough TD1 (formerly the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation), which estimates that nine million people worldwide live with the condition.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&ldquo;I was always thinking on my cycling trips about what else I could do to help, so this journey came together organically,&rdquo; said McAleer, who retired earlier this year.<\/p><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"765\" height=\"1024\" data-attachment-id=\"111222\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2026\/10\/05\/mary-washington-alum-cycles-cross-country-and-campus-walk-for-a-cure\/unknown-13-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/10\/Unknown-13.jpeg\" data-orig-size=\"1529,2048\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta='{\"aperture\":\"0\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"0\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"0\",\"iso\":\"0\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0\",\"title\":\"\",\"orientation\":\"0\",\"alt\":\"\"}' data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Pat McAleer&amp;#8217;s daughters, Abby (left) and Mary Kate (right), wearing T-shirts supporting finding a cure for type 1 diabetes, which Mary Kate was diagnosed with at age 10. Photo courtesy of Pat McAleer. &lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/10\/Unknown-13-765x1024.jpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/10\/Unknown-13-765x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"Two sisters, wearing T-shirts supporting finding a cure for type 1 diabetes, hugging and smiling for the camera.\" class=\"wp-image-111222\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.7470817120622568;width:304px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/10\/Unknown-13-765x1024.jpeg 765w, https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/10\/Unknown-13-224x300.jpeg 224w, https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/10\/Unknown-13-768x1029.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/10\/Unknown-13-1147x1536.jpeg 1147w, https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/10\/Unknown-13.jpeg 1529w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 765px) 100vw, 765px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pat McAleer&rsquo;s daughters, Abby (left) and Mary Kate (right), wearing T-shirts supporting finding a cure for type 1 diabetes, which Mary Kate was diagnosed with at age 10. Photo courtesy of Pat McAleer. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He had taken longer rides before &ndash; and even finished the Camino de Santiago, a 500-mile pilgrimage in Spain, on a rented bicycle because he broke his toe on the trip. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;ve never done something like this,&rdquo; he said.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McAleer flew to Seattle in July, dipped his wheel in the Pacific Ocean and headed east. He has traveled interstates and dirt roads, braved inclement weather, wore a face respirator to avoid inhaling nearby wildfire smoke, pedaled up hills and mountains and has frequently camped under the night skies.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But it&rsquo;s been worth it, he said, because of the conversations he&rsquo;s had with strangers, including some whose families have been impacted by type 1 diabetes. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve chatted with people in coffee shops and cornfields and realized how kind people truly are.&rdquo;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Friends, family and fellow alumni are following along on social media, including Sean Michael Dargan &rsquo;90, who met up with him in Madison, Wisconsin, reconnecting for the first time since graduation. McAleer &ndash; who has also been profiled by news media throughout Virginia and even briefly appeared on the <em>Today Show<\/em> with Molly while passing through New York City &ndash; hopes to see other former classmates in Fredericksburg, while spreading the word about TD1.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&ldquo;I truly believe that we can find a cure,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;In the meantime, we can fund research for better treatments so people can live healthier lives.&rdquo;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/giving.umw.edu\/blog\/2026\/09\/29\/mary-washington-alum-cycles-cross-country-and-campus-walk-for-a-cure\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/giving.umw.edu\/blog\/2026\/09\/29\/mary-washington-alum-cycles-cross-country-and-campus-walk-for-a-cure\/\">View images<\/a> from Pat McAleer&rsquo;s journey.<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ridepatride.org\/\"><em>Learn more<\/em><\/a><em> at RidePatRide.org.<\/em><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Do you know a high school senior or transfer student who would thrive at Mary Washington? Share our Refer an Eagle code<strong> UMWFAM <\/strong>to waive the $50 application fee on the Common Application for admission to encourage the student to apply. <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/admissions\/alumni-recruitment\/\"><em>Learn more<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>byPat McAleer &rsquo;89 remembers being in college when the bricks were laid to make the University of Mary Washington&rsquo;s Campus Walk.He&rsquo;ll ride that same route when he visits his alma mater Oct. 7 during the final stretch of his cross-country cycling journey &ndash; spanning more than 4,000 miles &ndash; to support research for type 1 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1236,"featured_media":111234,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[704],"tags":[],"topics":[],"class_list":["post-111218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-top-stories","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.5 (Yoast SEO v28.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Mary Washington Alum Cycles Cross-Country \u2013 and Campus Walk \u2013 for a Cure - News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2026\/10\/05\/mary-washington-alum-cycles-cross-country-and-campus-walk-for-a-cure\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mary Washington Alum Cycles Cross-Country \u2013 and Campus Walk \u2013 for a Cure\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"byPat McAleer &rsquo;89 remembers being in college when the bricks were laid to make the University of Mary Washington&rsquo;s Campus Walk.He&rsquo;ll ride that same route when he visits his alma mater Oct. 7 during the final stretch of his cross-country cycling journey &ndash; spanning more than 4,000 miles &ndash; to support research for type 1 [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta 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