BREMERTON—They started walking about noon Saturday, June 27. As the heat crested 90 degrees, they kept kept walking. When the moon peaked, they were walking. And as the sun crept over Sinclair Inlet, they were still out there, wearing out the soles of their shoes.

For almost 24 hours, about 200 people from 30 teams walked the track at Bremerton High School during the 2015 Relay For Life at Bremerton High School to benefit cancer research. This is the 30th anniversary of the relay and the 20th time it’s been done in Bremerton-Central Kitsap.

Originally, over 350 people from over 40 teams signed up.

“It was extremely hot, which I think deterred a lot of people,” said Robert Hanlon, community manager for the Bremerton-Central Kitsap relay.

The relay is personal to Hanlon. He’s had melanoma twice–first in 2004 and again in 2012. He also lost his mother, brother-in-law and best friend to cancer.

Cancer survivors in purple shirts led the first of hundreds of laps. The survivors ranged from Vietnam veteran to a boy who’d never lived in a world without Facebook.

Many took turns walking with their teammates. As one looped the reddish brown track, the others took refuge from the sun under tents or the stadium roof.

Participants raised more than $25,000. The largest donations came from the Lockheed Martin team, which raised about $4,700 and the largest individual donation came from Barry Loonham, who gave $2,400. Unsurprisingly, Loonham was a member of the Lockheed Martin team.

The relay is looking for new members.

“We are always looking for committee members,” Hanlon said. “We’re looking at more fundraising opportunities with teams.”

To learn more about Relay For Life, contact Hanlon at (253) 207-5147 or robert.hanlon@cancer.org or visit them on Facebook.