Taking part in the Bendigo Relay for Life? We'd love to see your photos and video! Share them with us on Facebook; use #relayforlifebendigo on Instagram or Twitter; or Snapchat them to our account bgoaddy. THEY began in the evening and walked through the dark night. Operating on little sleep – the amount varied from person to person – they took to the track again in the morning, enduring the sun into the afternoon. RELATED: Relay for Life – Photos About 1000 people have taken part in this year’s Relay for Life, a 21-hour walk around the running track at the La Trobe University Bendigo Athletics Complex on Friday and Saturday. Some $110,000 has been raised for cancer programs as people of all ages have united to celebrate the lives of survivors, pay tribute to loved ones lost and catch up with others who simply understood what they had gone through. “Everyone here has been touched by cancer in some way,” said Relay for Life Bendigo committee member Robin Gray.  “We get people from all over Bendigo – aged 2 to 92. It’s a fabulous thing.” Almost 70 teams have taken part in the walk, which began on Friday evening. So participants could be there at the start and finish, breaks were taken throughout the night. But even in the wee hours, dedicated walkers were pacing around the track. “The emphasis of walking through the night is important. Cancer doesn’t go away at 5pm,” Ms Gray said. RELATED: School staff honour lost colleague RELATED: Students hit relay rhythm Golden Square resident Carmel Moore first walked the Relay for Life after her husband, Ken, was found to have a brain tumour.  “When that happened, we met people who had been in the relay,” she said, while pushing her young granddaughter around in a pram. “We came and did a lap that first year. We decided we would enter a team for the following year. Unfortunately, my husband didn’t make the relay; he passed away.” Caught in the immense grief of her loss, Mrs Moore pushed on, entering a team named in honour of her late husband and comprising people close to him. Now into its 14th relay, Mrs Moore’s team has raised about $63,000 for cancer programs. It still bears Ken’s name, but its members now have additional reasons for walking. “The team’s not all about him now, “ Mrs Moore said.  “Some of the team members have actually got cancer themselves in that time.” Mrs Moore’s Relay for Life personal journey has also evolved. “When it’s really early days, it’s so important to have people around you who’ve been through it,” she said.  For Mrs Moore, the event is also about having a bit of fun, catching up with friends and raising money to assist what she says is the wonderful work of those providing cancer treatment. “It’s the whole spirit of it,” she said.  But having experienced immense loss, Mrs Moore often has one eye on those whose grief is raw. “I can empathise and sympathise because I know what they have been through.”