What gets you exercise, allows you to hang out with friends, introduces you to amazing people, AND gives you the opportunity to cure cancer? I don’t know what you were thinking, but I was thinking Relay for Life! This past weekend, hundreds of Miami students, faculty, and Oxford citizens, walked at Millet so that one day there will be a cure for cancer.
The Relay for Life Association says that cancer doesn’t sleep, so why should we? This is why Relay for Life participants walked for a full 24 hours around a track, to fundraise money for research by the American Cancer Society. I know what you’re thinking… a FULL 24 hours of walking?? Are these people crazy? The answer is yes, it is a full 24 hours of walking, but like a relay, only one person from each group has to be walking at a time.
Participants sign up for the fundraiser in groups with friends, relatives, or organizations and each group consists of around 10-15 people. I attended Relay for Life last year, and I have to say it is an extremely cool event. People literally camp out at Millet with sleeping bags, blankets, and snacks, prepared to stay the entire night.
While it is a fun and upbeat event, it is also an emotional one. When all of the cancer survivors gather together to walk the survivor lap, it makes you realize how lucky so many of us are to be in such good health, while others have to battle for their lives daily. As they walked around the track, I remembered thinking how I will try my best to never take another day for granted.
Catherine Hoffman, Relay for Life Active Retention Chair at Miami, said that this year they had 75 teams walking and that they planned to fund raise around $61,000. “Relay For Life is a place where we can share our common experience with cancer, continue to educate people, fight back against the disease, and celebrate our survivors!” she said.