The Winchester Star - Walking around the clock

West Virginia University medical student and American Cancer Society intern Nadia Barghouthi folds hundreds of cancer survivor Tshirts while preparing for the Relay for Life event Friday at James Wood High School.

The Winchester Star - Frederick County Relay for Life participants will walk for a cure around the clock this weekend. The all-night fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, beginning Friday evening and continuing through Saturday, will have its solemn moments, in keeping with the seriousness of the fight against cancer, said Julie Overbaugh, senior community manager for the local ACS office.

But organizers and the 72 teams with close to 900 participants also are going to make sure people coming out to have activities, music, games and food to help them keep up their energy and enthusiasm for the cause, she said.

“After midnight, when it starts to get a little colder and you are tired, the more activities you have, the less it makes you think you have seven hours to go,” Overbaugh said with laugh.

The event will be held from 6:30 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday at James Wood High School, though camp site set-up and some activities will start earlier in the day. It is free and open to the public and is held in the track area.

Teams walk all night to raise money for cancer research and benefit cancer patient programs, Overbaugh said. Members of those teams have been raising money for months leading up to the relay, and many will continue to do so with fundraisers at the event.

Last year’s event, in which 81 teams with more than 1,100 members participated, generated $301,815 for the American Cancer Society. As of Wednesday, teams had raised $193,011, according to the event website at winchesterrelay.org. Despite the lower number of participants, organizers are determined to make this year ’s relay a fun and profitable event, said Pat Perry, who is coordinating it along with Judy Alkire and Vicki Newlin.