Every October, we move.

The Big Frank Challenge is a memorial, month-long fitness event that brings people together to improve their lives.

The BFC started in 2020 with a few friends biking and planking in their living rooms during lockdown. Now in our 7th consecutive year, we continue to move and gather points together.

The goal is simple: earn 100 points in one month. Points come from moving. Running, cycling, swimming, planks, pushups, rucking, yoga, surfing, pickleball, paddleboarding. More than 25 activities count, each converted to points, so a swimmer and a cyclist and somebody just getting back into walking are all playing the same game.

Everyone posts their daily totals to a shared leaderboard. That's the part that makes it work. It creates the same energy you feel at a 5K. You're not out there alone, and something about that gets your motivation going in a way that's hard to put words to.

Hit 100 points by October 31st and you're a Finisher.

Who was Big Frank?

I'm proud to say Big Frank was my dad, Frank Sabatasso. He was about as authentic as they come and a very passionate man. He loved sports and he loved the outdoors, and I was exceptionally lucky to be raised by someone who pushed me from a young age to get after it. Hunting, fishing, camping, watersports, dirt biking, mountain biking, skiing. The list goes on.

He was also beyond supportive of me playing every sport available to me. I made lifelong friendships through the comradery of sports, going back to kindergarten. Those friends will all tell you the same thing: Big Frank was the most present, booming voice at all the games.

Soccer, baseball, football, basketball, lacrosse, wrestling, junior lifeguard competitions. In our adult years, even our co-ed intramural games. Big Frank was there, and he was absolutely an influential dynamic to the outcome of the game.

Growing up, my dad would seek out my friends' schedules and go watch their games even when I wasn't playing. Some of my friends had Big Frank cheering them on from pee wee football, through high school, and into the collegiate level. Same booming voice. Same passion. Same support, strong as ever.

When Big Frank went down from a major stroke in 2019, a couple months before the announcement of Covid, it hit the community hard. It was touching to see all the friends he'd cheered on over the years come back to support him. Videos of him clearly trying hard to move his limbs, walk, and talk again brought a lot of tears. For a proud man to lose his ability to speak and to be physically independent, I know that was very hard for him.

He fought through ICU, TCU, acute care, physical therapy, and speech therapy, all of it amidst what lockdown does to a hospital. A month before he was scheduled to come home, they found stage 4 cancer. He made it home for one month, got to have loved ones see him without Covid protocols in the way, and passed away peacefully in his home.

That was right around the time Ryan Doyle was putting together a month-long fitness challenge. The timing worked out for a close group of my friends to do it in honor of my dad. We called it the Big Frank Crank n Plank. 150 miles cycled, 150 minutes planked.

Getting outside, pushing yourself in nature, and forging strong relationships through comradery will always live. That's what this is.

Who are you moving for?

This started for my dad. But you don't need to have known him to do this.

Almost everybody has somebody. A parent, a coach, a sibling, a friend. Someone who showed up for you, pushed you, believed you could do more than you thought, and isn't here anymore. If you've got a person like that, dedicate your month to them.

You don't have to tell anyone who it is. But taking care of your own health in memory of somebody who cared about yours is about as good a reason to move as I can think of.

In memory of Mezz

We also carry Christopher "Mezz" Mezzavilla with us. We lost him in 2024 after he battled cancer for over two years.

Mezz wasn't just a participant. He built all the scoresheets our people used. Every person who ever tracked their points in this challenge used something he made, on his own time, because he was good at it and he wanted to help. His original spreadsheets are built into now the code of our new an improved leaderboard. His mark on the BFC will forever be imprinted on this community.

This year: A Walk on Water

For 2026, every dollar goes to A Walk on Water, a 501(c)(3) that provides surf therapy to children with unique needs and their families.

The fit is about as direct as it gets. Water, movement, and kids getting access to a sport they'd otherwise be shut out of. My dad spent his life making sure kids had somebody in the stands. AWOW gets them in the water.

This campaign is hosted under AWOW's 501(c)(3), so your gift is tax-deductible and receipted automatically. We never touch the money.

Three ways in

Take the challenge. Register, get your scorecard, and go for 100 points in October.

Just give. You don't have to work out to help. Any amount goes straight to AWOW.

Back a challenger. Sponsor somebody who's doing it. Every participant gets their own fundraising page. Find your person and give in their name.

Whatever moves you, counts.

More about the challenge, the full points table, and past years: http://bigfrankchallenge.com

Big Frank Challenge 2026

100 points. 31 days. One community.

Team Members