Chris Pendergast was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in October of 1993. Doctors told him he had two to three years to live. Five if he was lucky. In 2019, Pendergast celebrated his 70th birthday, having lived with the disease for 26 years.

ALS, also commonly called Lou Gherig's disease, is a progressive neuro-degenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. These nerve cells control voluntary movements. As the disease progresses, patients lose their ability to move their arms, their legs or even to breathe.

In 1998, Chris Pendergast founded Ride for Life, riding his electric scooter from Yankee Stadium to Washington D.C. over the course of 16 days in order to raise awareness of ALS. The ride resulted not only in awareness of the disease but also raised over $30,000 in donations.

After three rides to Washington D.C., Pendergast moved Ride for Life to Long Island. Since that time, the event has raised over $3.5 million for ALS research. These funds contributed to the opening of the ALS Clinic at Stony Brook, later renamed the Christopher Pendergast Center of Excellence.

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