Eastern Washington BMX tracks team up for Race for Life fundraiser

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake BMX will be participating in the Race for Life fundraiser the first weekend of August. A nationwide event, Eastern Washington BMX entities are adapting it into a four-track series across Walla Walla, Columbia Basin, Spokane and Moses Lake, President of Moses Lake BMX Jeff Niehenke said.  

"We try to see who can raise the most money amongst the tracks," Niehenke said. "We have a traveling trophy that goes along with that for bragging rights. Along with that, we also do a four-race series for the riders, and we have end-of-series awards for those who get the most points through those four races." 

According to the USA BMX Foundation, the Race for Life started in 1981 when a fellow BMX rider was diagnosed with Leukemia. Todd Kingsbury was the 12-year-old rider that fellow BMXers rallied around to offer support in his time of need.  

Moses Lake will host their race on Aug. 2 and will be the final day of the Eastern Washington Race for Life series. Spokane will host on Friday, then Walla Walla Saturday morning and Columbia Basin that evening.  

They will be presenting series awards for four race series, Niehenke said. They will announce the top 10 boys racers, top five girls racers and top three boys and girls cruisers.

Points are based on state series points, meaning riders of all skill levels compete on an even playing field, giving everyone a chance to win, according to Moses Lake BMX. Any ties in the series standings will be broken by the amount of Race for Life funds raised. 

There will also be awards for fundraising. The top three fundraisers at each track will be recognized. Eastern Washington tracks will also compete for the title of Top Fundraising Track, with the winner taking home the traveling Race for Life Trophy.  

"This will be the fourth year that we've done the Eastern Washington Race for Life series. We've been doing the race for as long as the track's been in place, but the actual track versus track series we just started four years ago," Niehenke said.  

With just over a week to go, Moses Lake BMX has raised $1,050 of their $1,500 goal. According to Niehenke, the typical goal is around $5,000; however, most of the tracks are seemingly having a harder time this year, he said.  

"It seems to be a little tougher year to raise funds, but we're hoping to gain some momentum here in the last week going into our race series," he said.  

However, turnout from riders is up considerably this, Niehenke said. The annual average for this event is around 12 motos, but this year they're anticipating 25-30 motos for the races.  

When events like these come around, it's an opportunity to see how connected the BMX community is.  

"We look after each other like none other," Niehenke said. "We're always looking for ways to give back to the community, whether it's through sponsorships or sponsoring riders, or giving back to charitable causes like this. This year, we've partnered with Care Moses Lake, and so we did a food drive a couple weeks ago to help them out with their free lunch program, and so it's just been fun to use some of the other community organizations and see what we can do together." 

According to Niehenke, the track is expecting the quality of competition to increase after rebuilding their track in the Spring. The renovation came at an opportune time where they're seeing an increase in community engagement.  

"We got the biggest track we've ever had; it's riding better than ever," he said. "We had another huge turnout for our state race in May, 411 riders at that race. We're at a record growth for new members. We have 56 new members this year already, which has surpassed our last couple of years." 

For those interested in donating, Moses Lake BMX will be accepting donations up to the final day of the race series on Aug. 2. Donations can be made at this link here: https://bit.ly/BMXRFL 

    Riders in the 2025 Gold Cup race at Moses Lake BMX track wait on the ramp for the start. Moses Lake BMX has raised $1,050 of their $1,500 goal for the Race for Life race series.
  

    A rider soars over a jump at the Moses Lake BMX track. According to Jeff Niehenke, he expects about 25-30 riders at this year's Race for Life series.
  

    A BMX rider pops a wheelie in the final stretch of their race at the Moses Lake BMX track.