A person with cancer does not get a break or a good night’s sleep. The cancer never stops, so the relay runs throughout the night to represent the battle a person with cancer is facing.” 

—Stephanie Knapp

Mason’s Relay for Life is an annual fundraiser bringing together teams of students, faculty and staff to participate in an overnight relay at the Field House. This year the event will occur from 4 p.m. to 6 a.m. April 21^st to the 22^nd. The motto for Mason’s Relay for Life is, “Cancer never sleeps, so neither will we!” Stephanie Knapp, one of the lead organizers for the event notes, “a person with cancer does not get a break, or a good night’s sleep. The cancer never a stops, so the relay runs throughout the night to represent the battle a person with cancer is facing.”

Relay for Life brings together over 70 teams and 1000 participants. It holds the record for being the biggest student run on-campus event. The evening of the event includes activities such as carnival-style games, band performances, dance parties, a silence auction, Mardi Gras themed laps, a donut and wing eating challenge, a Dodge ball game, and a glow stick rave to re-energize everyone at 4 am. Every team must commit to having at least one team member walking the track at all times throughout the evening. This is symbolic of how the friends and family of those facing cancer never rest in the fight against cancer.

Relay for Life has three ceremonies, which include a survivor lap, a luminary ceremony, and a fight back lap. The event begins with the survivor lap where individuals who have survived cancer take the first lap, cheered on by the crowd. During the luminary ceremony participants honor those who have lost their lives to cancer. The fight back lap begins at 6 a.m. to inspire teams to keep up their energy in the last hour to continue the battle in the quest for a cure for cancer.

Last year the event raised over $80,000 dollars and this year hopes to raise over 100,000 dollars to support the fight to end cancer. In order to sign up, teams can go to www.gmurelay.org.