Bikers and kayakers sped down respective six-mile courses to raise money for the Petersburg Medical Center’s annual Pedal/Paddle Battle on July 19. The event raises tens of thousands of dollars each year to support continued education for hospital staff and scholarships for graduating high schoolers.
Overall, the hospital’s PMC Foundation raised over $24,000 through the event, well above their $20,000 goal — and the most in the event’s 11 year history.
Jennifer Bryner, head of nursing at the hospital, helped her 7-year-old granddaughter Libby Thain knock on doors to collect sponsors for her participation.
“Libby’s mom went to nursing school utilizing the scholarship,” Bryner said. “So we try to replenish the money that has been used.”
As her family set up for the race, Libby held a Ziploc bag full of cash and a list of sponsors so long that the 7-year-old could barely keep track of how many people had contributed.
“I cannot count,” she said. “It is so much.”
This was Libby’s fourth time biking in the Battle. In previous years, she won a kayak and a bike from the fundraiser’s prize drawing.
Before Libby and the rest of the pedalers set out that morning, the paddlers got a head start, launching from Scow Bay into the Wrangell Narrows. Participants on land and water all made their way to the other side of town, finishing their journeys at Sandy Beach.
PMC Community Wellness Manager Julie Walker called the start for both the pedalers and paddlers. She emphasized that the event was not a race, despite some participants’ competitive attitudes.
After paddling into Frederick Sound to finish at Sandy Beach, some paddlers said they had a very specific goal in mind: beating PMC’s CEO, Phil Hofstetter, to the finish.
“After about 10 minutes in, I had to revise my goal of trying to beat Phil,” participant Katie Pearson said.
“He brought his daughter along. I thought … maybe she’ll slow him down. But no, that wasn’t true,” added paddler David Kensinger. “They smoked all of us.”
Hofstetter and his daughter arrived first on the beach.
“My daughter, she was the powerhouse because we did a double [kayak] this year,” he said. “We kept looking behind us … it was a little competitive edge there.”
When the cyclists rolled into the finish, 7-year-old Libby arrived before her family. She said it was good, but emphasized that “everything” was “really tiring.”
All of the children got a prize for participating in this year’s Pedal/Paddle Battle. But Libby won an additional prize for having the most sponsors — 21 total. Drawing prizes for the adults included a paddle board, a dry bag, and Alaska Airlines tickets.
Event organizers said corporate contributions doubled this year, making up $16,000 of the record-breaking $24,201 total. That extra dollar was partly from a $6 individual donation raised by Libby.
Editor’s Note (July 24, 2025): The headline and article of this story were updated to correct the dollar figure reported. The total amount raised was $24,201, not $24,001.
