By Raechel Dawson,
rdawson@soundpublishing.com

Renton resident and South King Fire and Rescue firefighter Merrick McGinnis and his wife, StephanieMcGinnis, began their 3,000-mile bicycle journey across the country last week.

It took them 10 years to plan, and now they have less than 47 days to complete their ride across 14 states.During the trek, the pair hope to raise $50,000 for cancer, ALS and Parkinson’s’s disease – all “becausesome can’t.”

The couple will split the funds they raise between five charities: the WSCFF Burn Foundation, the SeattleBrain Cancer Walk, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, the ALS Association, and the Michael J. FoxFoundation for Parkinson’s Research.

“Both my dad and my wife’s mother have Parkinson’s, and that’s a cause near and dear to my heart,”Merrick McGinnis said before they left. “And then, in the last few years, we’ve had several friends andfamily that have had different types of cancers, and then some have passed, and that just speaks volumesto us as far as, ‘This is a cause we want to work towards.’ So we decided to choose these five charities forthat reason.”

Stephanie McGinnis said a fellow firefighter – she works at the Port of Seattle Fire Department – developedbrain cancer, which also affected her best friend.

“We thought this was a great opportunity to bring awareness,” Stephanie McGinnis said. “It’s sobering thatmany people aren’t here or physically can’t do it.”

But the McGinnises didn’t just decide to hop on their bikes and go.

The Renton residents spent the good part of the year planning their route, which is from Boston to theSeattle area, and even more time training.

“My wife is primarily a marathon runner and I primarily do triathlons, and we’ve kind of abandoned thosetrainings for mainly just riding,” Merrick McGinnis said. “We did a five-day training ride last month. Wewent over to the Oregon coast and down to Cannon Beach, back to Portland, and then took the train homefrom there. It was about 300 miles.”

Being firefighters, they frequently get the opportunity hone their strength and cardio training.

“I think one of the main things is just the mental part of wrapping your head around it,” Merrick McGinnissaid. “You know there’s going to be a day when we’re out in South Dakota and it’s going to be hot andwindy and you just have to keep plugging along and know we’re doing it for a good reason.”

Aside from keeping a strong mentality, Merrick McGinnis’s only anticipated challenge is the weather,specifically the wind in Montana. Stephanie McGinnis said one of her hardest days will be biking up MountRushmore in South Dakota.

The McGinnises contacted fire departments that have stations on their travel route, and they plan to letfellow firefighters know about their cause as they travel. They even planned for the Boston LoganInternational Airport fire chief to send them off on their journey.

The duo will stay with some friends they met from Peru along the way, but other than that, they plan tostay in hotels in between rides.

To follow their journey, “Because Some Can’t,” visit their Facebook page, “Because Some Can’t.” Donationsare being accepted at www.becausesomecant.com.