On NBC’s The Office, Michael held a fun-run to support people with rabies. Seattle Public Schools once organized a 5k to raise money for better physical education equipment. Around town, various signs advertise a walkathon for leukemia or a breast cancer 10k. And yet Relay for Life is the first to put a twist on these events, managing to intrigue more people than the average fundraiser run.

On the night of May 31st, Relay for Life will hold a walk at Memorial Stadium, donating money to the American Cancer Society in hopes of progressing the search for a cure. Relay has raised over one billion dollars for the Society since its 1985 creation by a Tacoma doctor, who circled a track for 24 hours to accrue a total of 83 miles and $27,000 from friends and family for cancer research. The first Relay for Life was held the subsequent year.

As participants enter the event, they are encouraged to purchase bags filled with a glow-stick and sand. They then decorate the bags in memory of a person who passed away from cancer, says senior Veronica Galvin, an active member of the Relay for Life Board. The lights create a luminaria, which guides participants as they embark on their walk, and commemorates cancer survivors while recognizing victims of the disease.

For over two decades now, the walk has opened with a lap for banner-bearing cancer survivors. “It helps support the survivors; we have a lot of [them] that participate in the relay,” says Sarah McNabb, another member of the Relay for Life Board who is looking forward to her first Relay this May.

The walk will begin at 2 pm and will not end until the next morning. “The event symbolizes how cancer never sleeps,” says Vinsy Szeto, a youth recruiter for Relay and a member of the board along with Galvin and McNabb. “People who have cancer are fighting against it 24 hours a day,” says Galvin; therefore, the relayers agree to pull an all-nighter.

Walking around a track of unchanging scenery for multiple hours in a row may sound boring, but Relay for Life puts a spin on this idea with two major rules. Participants must be members of an 8– to 15-person team, which works together to raise money prior to the event, and each team must have at least one relayer walking at all times.

Meanwhile, others who aren’t representing the team on the track enjoy the surrounding festivities. “People pitch tents and make food, and there’s music playing and a couple bands perform,” says Galvin. In past relays, activities have ranged from massages to yoga to talent shows and dances. “You’re having so much fun, but it’s all for a really good cause,” says Szeto.

All of the businesses that attend Relay for Life donate their profits to the American Cancer Society, whose website states that one out of every three people will be diagnosed with some form of cancer. “Cancer is something that [I believe] affects everyone in their lifetime and it’s important to support a cause that you think is a worthy fight,” says Galvin.

Being able to meet and talk with people who have battled cancer can be an eye-opening experience. “[Cancer survivors] are still able to do Relay, and it inspires me,” says Szeto. “You have such a blast!”