POULSBO — More than 100 Relay For Life walkers and 20 teams took over North Kitsap Stadium on Friday and Saturday, to raise cancer awareness and raise money for cancer research.

The event ran 6 p.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Saturday.

Organizers say Relay For Life is an overnight event because cancer never sleeps. Participants walk in honor of survivors, light candles in memory of those who have died, and rally in solidarity in the battle against cancer.

Relay teams are comprised of former and current cancer patients, those who have lost a loved one to cancer, as well as families, businesses and civic organizations.

Relay For Life is held each year in thousands of communities across the United States. Thanks in part to funds raised by Relay For Life, the American Cancer Society has about $500 million in research grants in effect today. The result of those research dollars: In 1946, 25 percent of cancer patients lived at least five years after diagnosis; today, that rate is 60 percent.

All told, the American Cancer Society has invested about $4 billion in research for a cure.

— Photos by Brad Camp