Arbroath Relay for Life is edging ever closer to reaching the £1 million milestone in the fight against cancer after the town’s weekend gala event brought in over £50,000.
The 80s themed relay ran non-stop throughout Saturday and into Sunday, with it having kicked off at Arbroath Cricket Club on Saturday at 11am.
Team members not on the track took turns to rest, eat, or sleep in their tents for 24 hours with each team having someone on the track until the last members crossed the finish line at 11am on Sunday.
The weather held firm for participants with a carnival atmosphere including music, games, entertainment and food keeping everyone entertained.
With this year’s event bringing in £56,594.65, the total raised since the relay began 11 years ago has reached around £900,000.
Relay chair Ian Angus said everyone involved had worked “amazingly hard” throughout the year to contribute to the latest effort.
He said: “It went really well and it passed so quickly.
“The atmosphere throughout the event was fantastic.
“The icing on the cake wast the fact that we had visitors up from Bath and Cornwall who were blown away.
“They are looking at starting a Relay for Life down in Bath and they were told to come up and have a look at what we are doing in Arbroath as we are a great example to follow.
“But the main thing is that relayers have fun and celebrate a year of brilliant fundraising efforts.
“I’m proud of every one of them.”
Mr Angus added that reaching the £1 million milestone was firmly in his sights.
He said: “We are really happy with raising over £50,000 under the circumstances with the economy at the moment.
“We knew that if we were to reach £1 million this year it would have been a herculean effort but hopefully we can get there next year.
“There aren’t many relays which have passed that milestone and I want to do it as soon as possible.
“Massive thanks goes out to everyone involved, including our main sponsor Thorntons Solicitors and Arbroath Cricket Club for their fantastic help over the year.”
There are still a number of fundraising events due to take place with Catwalk for a Cure, a cancer survivors’ fashion show, set to be held at Carnoustie Golf Hotel on Sunday October 15.
