Residents Show Support at Relay For Life

From 10 a.m. Saturday to about 8 a.m. this morning, residents of South Pasadena and surrounding communities walked the track of in the town's ninth annual . 

With 27 teams, both old and new, Event Chair David Melford said the race was able to raise around $100,000 this year. 

"It's not a huge town and to have this amount of awareness and fundraising is great," said Melford. "Cancer is 24/7. It never sleeps and neither do those on the track. It's a constant fight back against cancer." 

Some pulled all-nighters while others took cat naps in their tents. The Pink Flamingals, who were walking for their friend Stephanie Glazier, had 30-plus team members including friends and family. Each took turns on the track until around 8 a.m. this morning.

"It's great to have support from your friends," said Glazier, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in November. The Pink Flamingals were one of this year's top fundraising teams collecting $2,670. 

Jim Hodge, co-founder of the South Pas relay and this year's survivor speaker, helped open the event with a touching speech about the late Dick Richards. Richards, who was an integral part of South Pasadena and the visionary behind Relay For Life, died of prostate cancer in 2006. 

"We are all effected by cancer," Hodge said. "It was the plague of the 20th century, and now it's the plague of the 21st century."

All proceeds from Relay For Life go towards the American Cancer Society. International Relay For Life events are now held in communities across 19 countries outside the U.S. 

from this year's South Pas Relay For Life.