Photo by Jake McNeill Cyclists make their way toward the Red Baron Arena Friday, finishing up the 2025 Ride Across Minnesota fundraiser for multiple sclerosis (MS).

MARSHALL — Approximately 280 cyclists returned to Marshall’s Red Baron Arena to cross the finish line of the 2025 Ride Across Minnesota fundraiser for multiple sclerosis (MS) on Friday, capping off 250 miles of biking over the course of five days.

“It’s amazing to see people come together and just be there for people who need some help,” Andrea Britz, 16, said after participating in the event for the fifth time as a member of the SpongeBob Bicycle Pants club. “It’s just the people around me, the people I bike with, my team, it’s just amazing that we all keep going and keep pushing.”

Britz said she was inspired to first get involved with the Ride Across Minnesota fundraiser at age 12 by her grandfather, who’s been riding for 30 years and returned as a volunteer this year. Since then, she said she’s fallen in love with the event.

This year’s fundraiser, one of many Bike MS events across the country put on by the National MS Society, raised $502,712 for the cause. Contributions came from 34 teams, with Toni’s Trekkers topping the list at $110,779.

Tom Anderson is a veteran of the event, participating in it for over 30 years now and has missed it only three times since he started. Anderson competes with the team Flyvene Frosker, a phrase that translates from Norwegian to the Flying Frogs. 

Flyvene Frosker was down to three cyclists this year after having more than a dozen in past years, but he said the camaraderie of biking with a team across the state and stopping at different camp sites each year is part of the reason he comes back each season.

“Most of the riders are part of a team, so you’ve got that special thing,” Anderson said. “It’s fun each year to be in the campsites and get to know other people from year to year.”

This year’s event kicked off on Monday in Marshall and made stops in Granite Falls and Willmar. While Monday’s heavy rain delayed the start of the event, the cyclists hit the road about an hour after the originally scheduled time once the conditions were no longer hazardous. 

“There was quite a bit of rain, but it wasn’t hard or anything like that, and it wasn’t hot and sunny,” Anderson said.

Cyclists began arriving at the finish line outside of Red Baron around 11 a.m. and trickled in over the course of several hours, with locals in attendance gathering to cheer on the participants after a long week on the roads.

MS is a chronic autoimmune disorder that can disable the body’s central nervous system by damaging the brain’s ability to communicate with the body. Scientists are yet to find a cure, though certain therapies and medications can limit the disease’s ability to progress.