Two years after double hip replacement surgery, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) will put the rest of us to shame by racing in his ninth Pan-Mass Challenge, a fundraising bike-a-thon to raise money for cancer research and treatment.

According to the event’s website, the 5,000 riders commit to raising $500 to $4,200 to participate in the race on the weekend of Aug. 6 and 7. There are 11 different courses that snake through 46 different Massachusetts towns. The racers choose to race in one of six two-day rides or one of five one-day rides.

Kerry will be racing in a one-day 110-miler. In the past, the Senator has raised nearly $350,000 for the Jimmy Fund, which supports cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

The former Democratic presidential candidate may have a leg up on other participants when it comes to raising funds, just another perk of being an experienced politician. This year, however, the race is more personal.

“This race doesn’t belong to an election cycle,” Kerry said in a fundraising email Wednesday. “For my family, it’s something we’ve been facing anew over the last year and a half when Teresa was diagnosed with breast cancer and took it head-on with grace and with great care.”

Kerry spokeswoman Whitney Smith tells HOH that Kerry’s wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, has undergone treatment for breast cancer and is doing quite well.

We wish the Senator — and his cheerleader, Teresa— good luck!