Relay for Life of Middletown Raises $80K

This weekend, cancer survivors and volunteers from Middletown, Atlantic Highlands, Leonardo, Highlands and Lincroft will aid in the fight against the disease one lap at a time.

The American Cancer Society will hold its Middletown Relay for Life event at Middletown High School North on Friday at 5 p.m. More information is available on the event's website.

Relay For Life is an overnight community walkathon, in which teams and individuals camp out overnight and take to their track to raise money for cancer research. This year Middletown’s theme is "Decades: 100 Years of Hope’ in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the American Cancer Society, according to the event website. So far this year, area participants have raised more than $80,000 for the cancer society, organizers said.

The event begins with a lap reserved for cancer survivors and their caregivers at 7:45 p.m. following an opening welcome ceremony. As the sun sets, the track is lit up with the Luminaria Ceremony, which is marked with glowing bags lit with votive candles bearing the name of people affected by cancer. A more detailed schedule can be found on the event page website.