A team composed of RHS juniors put their best foot forward in a 24-hour walkathon that raised over $8,000 for the American Cancer Society.

The relay was held to raise funds for cancer patients. Runner and team organizer, Shane Meadows-Yaw feels the relay was a fantastic opportunity to support the cause of fighting cancer.

“It’s a really great group of people who are looking to raise money to support cancer patients and their families throughout treatment and after treatment,” Meadows-Yaw said.

For the runners, the walkathon was a physically exhausting challenge, however, their temporary suffering helped both friends and family that battled against cancer, as well as patients the runners didn’t know.

“I did this last year with my soccer team because one of our players was diagnosed with Leukemia, the same Leukemia that my grandmother was diagnosed with six years ago,” Meadows-Yaw said. “Both of them are doing fine today, which is fantastic news. Things would be different if it wasn’t for these treatments and these plans, so anything that I can do to help them is valuable to me.”

The run presented a difficult challenge for fellow runner Trevor Walker says

“I’d say that everyone out there was definitely out there for a reason, they were all super motivated to be out there and everyone was excited to help out and fight against [cancer].” Walker said.

Runner Josh Provins found that community played a strong part in the race. He felt that the relay was a chance for people to connect with each other through a common cause, as well as giving more perspective to the kindness inherent in his community. 

“It just enhanced the perspective I already had: the people do care and a lot of people want to support the cause of supporting cancer and finding a cure,” Provins said. 

The race proved to be a meaningful life experience for its runners, according to Meadows-Yaw. The team plans to reunite next year for the next relay.