Friday's rainstorm didn't stop hundreds of people from coming out to show their support in the fight against cancer.
Students, staff and community members packed Johnson Gym for the fourth annual Relay for Life to raise money for cancer research and treatment programs. The American Cancer Society sponsors the event.
More than 38 teams - about 527 participants - signed up for the walk, said Sevy Gurule, Relay for Life chairwoman. She said this is the largest turnout the event has had, and estimated the event raised more than $20,000.
The gym was set up with a path for teammates to take turns walking around, and tents, sleeping bags and mats littered the gym floor.
Many participants attended the relay to support a loved one who is battling cancer, and cancer survivors also showed up to walk and share their stories.
UNM student Kimberley Craft is a Hodgkin's lymphoma survivor. She gave her testimony of the battle before the survivors walked a lap in the relay.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Craft said she had support from her family and from one of her closest friends from elementary school, Lindsay Stansifer, who battled thyroid cancer. Stansifer and Craft are now sophomores at UNM.
Stansifer and Craft lost touch after elementary school until they started playing tennis together in high school, when both were diagnosed.
Stansifer said they restarted their friendship to help each other through the struggles that come with cancer treatment.
They helped each other through radiation, surgery and chemotherapy. Craft said the friends shared a constant exhaustion as a result of the treatments.
Stansifer said they tried to keep an optimistic outlook and maintain a support group.
"Keep a positive attitude and find people willing to listen to you when you are ready to talk," she said. "Don't push people away."
Stansifer said she learned about her faith and saw it get stronger during the ordeal.
Craft said it's important for people to enjoy their health while they have it.
"Do not take things for granted, because things can change in a hurry," she said. "Enjoy everything to the best of your ability, because you never know when things will be taken from you."
The two have been cancer-free for about two years.
Gurule spoke at a ceremony during the daylong event to thank volunteers and participants. She said Relay for Life impacts her on a personal level.
"I want to thank you all for your unwavering dedication, countless bake sales and passions to a cause that truly means the world to me, and has since December 2008, when I lost a dear friend to cancer," she said.
Relay for Life raises money for crucial patient services, cancer education and advocacy, Gurule said.
Volunteers lined the walking path with luminarias to honor cancer survivors and those who are still battling the disease.
The luminarias are a primary fundraising source for the event, and the Relay for Life Committee sells them throughout the year.
ASUNM Community Experience also helped raise funds by selling cotton candy at the relay.
"We came to support Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society to raise $400," said Monica Sandoval, event director of ASUNM Community Experience.
Organizers also provided a date auction and beauty pageant, which crowned a Mr. Relay, to help raise money.
Laura Rasmussen, Gurule's co-chairwoman, said the event was a success.
"One of the coolest things about relay, it is a big party, and a big celebration for all the efforts that people have done for raising money and a celebration of life," she said.
