Students donned raincoats (and bunny tails) on Saturday, May 25, for the sixth annual Otago Uni Relay for Life. The 50 teams and 570 individuals signed up to the event raised over the targeted $100k before the relay even began, with the number continuing to climb as relayers circled campus for 12 hours – from 6pm to 6am.
Otago Uni is the only university in the country that runs a student Relay for Life, facilitated by the student group Cancer Core that started in 2013. Speaking at the beginning of the event, Cancer Core President Hailey said that the group aims to “bridge the gap between the Cancer Society and Otago University students.”
Cancer Core member Niamh told Critic Te Ārohi that the idea “is that you work in teams and that all times you have someone on the track,” stretching about 400 metres around the Clocktower and Leith River. Each team is given a baton that is passed between members so that relayers are able to pace themselves during the night: “Obviously we don’t want people exhausting themselves.” However, Niamh said that some people “choose to run marathons doing this, or they just walk the entire 12 hours which is just as impressive.”
Despite the rain, spirits were running high at the event. The collection of tents and gazebos teams had set up at the base of the Clocktower served as a make-shift festival ground, high on good-will and drunk on electrolytes. “The excitement and the atmosphere here is so nice it kind of just wants you to keep going,” said Niamh. “You don’t feel that tired, you know?” Visible in the throng of runners, walkers, and prancers were prawns, dinosaurs, flamingos, bunnies, oodies, snowboarders, and even a couple stormtroopers. As the night went on, a handful of Highlanders buckets could be seen bobbing along the walkers as supporters trickled in from the game at Forsyth Barr.
Niamh said that she thought it was a “really good turnout, and also the fact that we’ve already raised over a hundred thousand dollars which two years ago when we last did relay we weren’t at a hundred thousand by the start. I mean, the numbers speak for themselves.”
Students we caught up with on the track were prepped and ready for the night ahead. “I think we’re pretty prepped,” said Emma, whose team was dressed as Easter bunnies, using a carrot as a baton. “We’ve got a gazebo, and plenty of snacks and stuff. So far so good! It might be a different story in a few hours but, you know, good so far.” SPEX student Tane told Critic he was planning on going continuously from midnight onwards. “You just get energy from people,” he said. “Because everyone else is still going, you’re like ‘okay, I’m going to go’.”
There were events held throughout the night to keep morale up, with some students even opting in to the Chop the Mop head-shaving event. Haki, Tumuaki of Te Rōpū Māori, took part in this, speaking to Critic Te Ārohi after the event: “So if you didn’t notice, I shaved my head.” This was both to honour his good friend who passed away from cancer in 2015, and to pay respects to both the head of the Office of Māori Development and of Pacific Development at Otago Uni who are battling cancer. “We also understand that cancer is a thing that runs rampant in a lot of families,” said Haki. “It’s not biased, it’s not racist. Cancer is something that affects everyone.”
The epitome of the event was the midnight candlelight ceremony which marked the halfway point. Niamh said that the ceremony “encompasses the whole reason as to why we do relay…It’s a really nice way to mark the halfway point and yeah people get really emotional.”
The Relay for Life is a community fundraising event for the Cancer Society towards the ongoing work of the organisation to support people with cancer and their loved ones in any way they can. As OUSA Political Rep Tessa pointed out, they also lobby the Government for legislative change, “directly impacting people living with cancer in Aotearoa.”
Cancer Core’s ambassador Sam spoke at the ceremony about his experience battling cancer, and how crucial the fundraising from the event would be for survivors like him. When he was diagnosed with cancer three years ago, “the Cancer Society came in and helped,” he said. “They will pick you up from the hospital, drop you off for your treatment, and they will wait for you until you are done every day…I’m here tonight to keep this engine going, because this has been a great support for me, and it should be a great support for anyone else that goes through cancer.”
“We all know of someone going through the hard battle of cancer,” said Hailey. “Some people may be running tonight to remember the passing of a loved one from cancer, whether that be your sister, brother, a parent, an extended family member, or even a friend.”
The midnight candlelight ceremony was followed by a lap of silence thick with grief and remembrance as we passed illuminated candle bags along the Leith that relayers had decorated for loved ones lost to cancer. Loudly churro-truck-enthusiastic students returning from town broke the spell slightly, while being a charming reminder of the small joys to cherish in life.
At time of writing, students have raised a collective $120k for the Cancer Society.