Forty-nine teams and nearly 600 participants turned out for the fifth annual Relay For Life of Falls Church last Saturday night, raising more than $67,000 for the American Cancer Society’s fight against cancer. The total continued to rise after the weekend from last-minute donations. At the start of the event, Mary Yeaney , a pediatric oncology nurse practitioner, introduced Emily Ringham from Bristow, a 13-year-old survivor of brain cancer. Her father, Kevin, talked about Emily’s cancer journey and Emily thanked everyone for supporting ACS. Sam Waters sang two hymns as cancer survivors led participants around the track at the George Mason High School, lined with hundreds of luminaria lighted in memory of persons who had died of cancer or in honor of persons who are cancer survivors. Teams battled it out to the midnight deadline to see which would raise the most. At midnight the Atownballers team from Yorktown High School, led by Emily Rebh, held a slight lead over Color Me Cured from Langley High School, headed by Blair Purdy, who was the top individual youth fundraiser. Both teams raised over $7,000. The participants enjoyed a perfect summer evening until around 1:30 a.m., when lightning flashed in the distance and a threatening weather forecast sent people back to their homes for the rest of the night. (Photos: Gary Mester)

Forty-nine teams and nearly 600 participants turned out for the fifth annual Relay For Life of Falls Church last Saturday night, raising more than $67,000 for the American Cancer Society’s fight against cancer. The total continued to rise after the weekend from last-minute donations. At the start of the event, Mary Yeaney , a pediatric oncology nurse practitioner, introduced Emily Ringham from Bristow, a 13-year-old survivor of brain cancer. Her father, Kevin, talked about Emily’s cancer journey and Emily thanked everyone for supporting ACS. Sam Waters sang two hymns as cancer survivors led participants around the track at the George Mason High School, lined with hundreds of luminaria lighted in memory of persons who had died of cancer or in honor of persons who are cancer survivors. Teams battled it out to the midnight deadline to see which would raise the most. At midnight the Atownballers team from Yorktown High School, led by Emily Rebh, held a slight lead over Color Me Cured from Langley High School, headed by Blair Purdy, who was the top individual youth fundraiser. Both teams raised over $7,000. The participants enjoyed a perfect summer evening until around 1:30 a.m., when lightning flashed in the distance and a threatening weather forecast sent people back to their homes for the rest of the night. (Photos: Gary Mester) {gallery}115/relay{/gallery}