Downturn Slows Elite Charity Events

Nonetheless, he raises between $5,000 and $8,000 a year for the Pan-Mass Challenge, Walsh said. "I've been fortunate because I've been haunting people for 15 years."

He has a friend who is afraid to commit to the full Pan-Mass route this year because of the fund-raising commitment.

But Walsh is not going away. He met his wife, a recruiter of platelet donors, when he was at Dana-Farber donating, and he has vowed to do the Pan-Mass ride 25 times.