More than 1,000 registered volunteers were distributed among the 80 teams gathered at Ralph Young Field for the overnight event aimed at raising money for cancer awareness. One participant from each team walked the track from the 6 p.m. kickoff on Friday until noon Saturday.

Kate Follett, the American Cancer Society associate director, said the event was a success in many ways.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the time and energy of the students who set this up for each other,” Follett said.

There also were 25 cancer survivors at the event, more than Follett said she had seen in past years.

Mark Cotter, a Lansing resident who was diagnosed with throat cancer last year but is now cancer-free, said the event is useful in allowing cancer survivors to share their stories.

“I don’t think you should just get away from cancer and say, ‘Oh, I don’t want to talk about it,’” Cotter said. “You have to know that now you have experiences others want to hear.”

Erin Walaszczyk, a fisheries and wildlife senior, said she has enjoyed her past experiences at Relay For Life.

“(My goal is to) raise as much money as we can for a good cause, interact with the survivors to try to give them a special event because they really deserve it, and just come together as a community and just have a great time,” Walaszczyk said.

For others, the event was a way to pay tribute and remember the lives of cancer victims.

The night kicked off with a speech by Northern Michigan University student Brandon Erkkila, an Iron Mountain native who was diagnosed with a rare form of testicular cancer and continues to fight the disease.

Erkkila said the event is important to him because it allows him to ease his own fears.

“To speak with people, it really makes me feel like I’m not alone,” Erkkila said.

“To help people help out and to have people come up and say to me that I’ve changed their lives or made them think differently about life — it’s just the hugs, everything.”