UPDATE TUESDAY:
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GREY skies, soaking wet clothes, leaking tents — you name it — Sutherland Shire Relay for Life teams have seen it all, and soldiered on anyway for a wet 24 hours to raise funds for the Cancer Council.
More than 1780 walkers did non-stop laps of Sylvania Waters Athletics Track on Saturday and Sunday, May 2 and 3, in more than 167 teams in what has been described as "the best relay ever".
Committee volunteer chairman Rod Coy said the relay was again expected to raise more than $500,000 for cancer research, education and support programs.
"The participant and visitor numbers were as high as they had ever been, and we only had rain at the moments it did not matter so much," Mr Coy said.
A shire boy, Jack, 8, who has cancer, cut the ribbon to mark the start of relay.
"He stayed for as long as he could, then went back to hospital for chemotherapy and a blood transfusion.
"His mother texted me later in the day to say: 'Jack keeps asking us if we'll get out in time to get back to relay. How's that for dedication!!!'
"Relay has this profound effect on people, and we're at this generational point where people are more willing to talk about their cancer journey.
"There isn't a secrecy about it."
Cronulla High School year 11 students Olivia Bannon, 16, and Poppy Geldart, 15, are believed to be the only participants who walked for the entire 24 hours.
Olivia entered her school's team in memory of her aunt who died three years ago from a rare form of cancer.
Poppy was walking for a cousin who survived cancer and went on to have a child.
"The hardest time was around 2am and 3am, when it felt like we had been walking forever," Olivia said.
"It was the most physical thing I've done for 24 hours."
Poppy said: "From about the 17th hour, we were walking less than one kilometre an hour, and it was taking us about 20 minutes just to do a lap.
"The music went off at around midnight, and we were walking in silence.
"Our teachers Mr Welch and Mr Moore were very supportive, walking with us in the early hours.
"The coffee van played music at some point, and it was nice to hear it."
This was the 14th year of the shire relay, which since its inception has raised more than $5 million for the Cancer Council.
It is the second-largest relay in Australia and the biggest in NSW. About 1000 attended the Candlelight Ceremony.
"Many said it was the best relay ever," Mr Coy said.
"There was a mosh pit on Saturday night near the main stage — as if they didn't care about the rain."
Details: shirerelay
Cancer Council confidential support line: 131 120.
UPDATE MONDAY: More than 1780 walkers in more than 167 teams did continous laps of Sylvania Athletics Track on the weekend — May 2 and 3 — in what has been described as ‘‘the best relay ever’’.
The Sutherland Shire Relay for Life is on track to raise more than $500,000 for Cancer Council research, education and support programs.
Committee volunteer chairman Rod Coy said walkers and visitor numbers were as high as they had ever been.
‘‘Many people had said it was the best relay ever,’’ Mr Coy said.
‘‘There has been no better.’’
A shire boy, Jack, 8, who has cancer, cut the ribbon to mark the start of relay, then went back to the hospital for treatment.
Cronulla High School year 11 students Olivia Bannon, 16, and Poppy Geldart, 15, are believed to be the only walkers who did the entire 24 hours.
Olivia entered her school’s team in memory of her auntie who died three years ago from a rare form of cancer.
Poppy was walking for a cousin who recently survived cancer and had a child.
This was the 14th year of the shire relay which has raised more than $5 million since its inception for the Cancer Council.
It is the second-largest relay in Australia and the biggest in NSW.
Details: shirerelay.com
Cancer Council confidential support line: 131120.
Did you take part in the relay? Tell us what it means to you below.
Previous story (2/5/2015): It's is a fitting motto for the Cancer Council's Relay for Life — "Hope lives here".
That motto is what drives thousands of St George and Sutherland Shire residents to walk continuous laps of Sylvania Waters Athletics Track in teams over a period of 24 hours.
In the past 20 years, funds raised nationally through Relay have saved the lives of 61,000 Australians through improvements in cancer prevention, screening and treatment.
Sutherland Shire Relay for Life, on May 2 and 3, aims to raise a further $600,000 for education programs, support services and medical research for people with cancer and their families.
The shire Relay is the second-largest in Australia and the biggest in NSW.
By the beginning of this month, more than 1000 participants in more than 151 teams had registered to take part.
Relay raised more than $23 million last year across Australia.
Each year funding goes to providing specific local services and programs, information resources for people newly diagnosed with cancer; free exercise programs for cancer patients; patient transport to hospital for treatment; confidential counselling; help with overdue utility bills for patients struggling financially, and medical research.
Cancer Council confidential support line: 13 11 20.
What does the Shire relay mean to you?
