Selena Buongiorno lay on the floor during training, gathered herself and got back up.

Then she rode 100 miles.

Buongiorno, who lives with multiple sclerosis, was among more than 700 cyclists who took part in Bike MS: Cycle to the Shore, a two-day fundraising ride that began Saturday, Oct. 3, in Ponte Vedra Beach and followed A1A toward Daytona Beach.

The event was expected to raise nearly $1 million for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Action News Jax reported.

Buongiorno set out on the event's 100-mile route.

"A lot of times it's an invisible illness, so we don't always see the battle people are fighting," Buongiorno told Action News Jax.

She described pain as her biggest symptom and said completing the ride required perseverance.

Riders travel from Ponte Vedra to Daytona Beach

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society offered routes of 36, 59, 77 and 100 miles during the Oct. 3-4 event.

Cyclists could start from PGA TOUR Headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach or Marineland before making their way south along A1A toward Daytona Beach.

Robin Nunley, executive director of the National MS Society in Florida, told Action News Jax that the event was expected to raise nearly $1 million.

The money supports the organization's efforts to assist people affected by multiple sclerosis and fund research into the disease.

More than 1 million people in the United States live with MS, a disease affecting the central nervous system for which there is currently no cure.

Training tested Buongiorno's limits

Buongiorno also discusses her experience living with MS on her podcast, "MSwired."

Training for the 100-mile ride tested her physically.

"It's a hundred miles. I'm extremely stubborn, which makes the training even worse because I'll lay on the floor, get myself together and then get back up again," Buongiorno told Action News Jax.

She said the ride was about more than completing the distance.

"Multiple sclerosis currently has no cure," Buongiorno said. "So we're trying to just raise money for research to ultimately find that cure."

Bike MS: Cycle to the Shore concluded Sunday, Oct. 4.