Matt Appleton, a cyclist with the University of Pittsburgh's Panther Cycling Club, heaved and tried to catch his breath yesterday as streams of sweat poured down his face, drenching his blue-and-gold Lycra suit.

He was one of about 900 cyclists who took 15-minute intervals in a six-hour race on stationary bikes in the lobby of the U.S. Steel Building to raise money for the Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

"You just have to put your head down, get in the zone, and just go," said Mr. Appleton, a junior majoring in biology at Pitt.

With long glass walls that give an expansive view of Mellon Arena and the Hill District, the second-floor lobby of the U.S. Steel Building was packed with bikes and cyclists from 74 teams in the 7th annual fund-raiser, billed the Race to Any Place.

The event, which started at 8 a.m., pitted teams of up to 15 members in a race to record the most mileage on a stationary bike during a six-hour span.

The teams were arranged in categories -- armed forces, open, corporate, health club, spinning, women, and men -- and the team with the highest number of miles covered in a particular category won the race.

Like a scene from a gymnasium cycling class, the cyclists, boosted by loud high-energy music tracks by Pittsburgh disc jockeys Lenny and Ed Thomas, took turns in pounding the bikes.

"The second and third rounds were pretty tough," said Greg Peaslee, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center senior vice president of human resources.

"I usually do a 100-mile bike ride, but this is pretty tough, too," he said.

With 213.32 miles, the Downtown Athletic Club team compiled the most miles by any team.

"It's a great family event that allows the community to come together for this important cause," said Tina Massari, a senior campaign director of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Ms. Massari said the organization raised more than $100,000 from the event to fund research and the fight against leukemia, Hodgkin's disease, lymphoma and multiple myeloma, which strike more than 96,000 every year.

"[The race] was a huge success. We hope to make it even better next year," said Ms. Massari.