2025 Challenge

17.5 miles. We’re doing it again.

On November 23rd, the Traynors are walking to fund cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

The Challenge

Friends of The Bud Traynor Memorial Fund know we have two favorite places to host events for our organization: Bethpage State Park Golf Course and a beach in Port Washington.

This will be our eighth time walking the nearly 18 miles between the two to raise funds to fight cancer. The walk takes about 6 hours and usually results in some heavily bruised feet, but it’s always worth it. Over the years, we’ve been generously supported with donations that have gone straight to the research team at Memorial Sloan Kettering. We hope you’ll consider donating this year!

We miss the days when our fundraisers included a leisurely stroll around the 18 holes of a lovely golf course, but for now, we’ll keep walking the Long Island Expressway for dollars.

We will be walking on November 23rd from PWEA Beach near the Traynor Family home in Port Washington to the first tee of the Red Course at Bethpage. If you’d like to sponsor our walk, click the link below. 100% of your donation will directly fund research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Google Maps tells us it’s 17.5 miles (Google doesn’t know about the construction detours ;)

Bernard “Bud” Traynor
1934-2003

Bud Traynor was a man who simply loved his life.

Happily married for 36 years, with two grown children, Bud was a kind and generous man who liked nothing better than being surrounded by friends and family - a group that included pretty much everyone he’d ever met. His enthusiasm and joie d’vivre were infectious: it was difficult to avoid a smile when he was telling a joke or describing how he finally - FINALLY- had solved the problem with his golf swing. 

In dedication to Bud’s lifelong passion for the game we established The Bud Traynor Classic golf tournament in his memory.  Starting in 2003, around 100 people joined us every year for a round of golf on the Red Course at world famous Bethpage State Park. Sixteen years and a lot of successful tournaments later (with a few beach parties sprinkled in the mix), we simplified our approach to raising critical funds for cancer research. We now walk annually from one of Bud’s favorite spots in the world to another: the beach near the Traynor home to Bud’s beloved Bethpage Park. This will be our eighth year making the nearly 18 mile trek.

about us: The Bud Traynor Memorial Fund

The Bud Traynor Memorial Fund, Inc. is a non-profit 501( c)3 organization established in memory of our cherished friend Bernard “Bud” Traynor, who lost his battle with lung cancer on February 26th, 2003.

Our mission is to provide financial support to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), one of the world’s leading organizations focused on cutting edge cancer treatment and the search for a cure. 100% of the proceeds from our fund-raising efforts go to “unrestricted” cancer research. This means the money we contribute can be directed by MSKCC physicians and scientists toward areas with the greatest need and greatest promise.

Since 2003, The Fund has raised over $200,000 for MSKCC.