The youngest survivor was 4, an innocent little girl with short brown hair.

The oldest was 90, a gray-haired man still brisk on his feet.

Members of the Bosom Buddies team, Pat Schurer, left, and Darlene Smith, both of Lawrence, walk the survivor

In between were hundreds of people who have kicked or are still fighting cancer.

They and their friends and family gathered Friday night at Haskell Stadium to share their stories, honor each other’s courage, remember loved ones who have died of cancer and raise money for research at the annual Relay for Life. Seven hundred fifty participants on 65 relay teams collected pledges and committed 12 hours from 7 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. today to walking the track at Haskell.

Event organizers had counted $97,000 by 8:30 p.m. Friday and expected the total raised in pledges and donations to top $100,000. All proceeds go to the American Cancer Society.

As she circled the track Friday, Lawrence resident Vicki Reeves, a breast cancer survivor whose disease was diagnosed six years ago, glanced at the more than 2,400 paper luminaries each with a name written on its side, some with pictures and drawings, too lining the inside lane. The tiny, white bags either honored a person living with cancer or remembered a person who had died of the disease.

“It’s fun to see people you know,” Reeves said, “and people you remember.”

The luminaries were lit in a ceremony after the sun sunk below the horizon.

Reeves got news of her cancer right after her mother died of the same disease. It’s been tough, she said, but good things have come of her harrowing journey as well.

“The support. People’s prayers,” she said. “That’s been one of the most important things to me, when someone says, ‘I’m praying for you.'”

Organizers passed out awards to the youngest and oldest cancer survivors and the man and woman who had survived cancer the longest.

Orvel Criqui, a Lawrence resident who found out two years ago he had prostate cancer, said it was touching to see the 4-year-old girl being carried in her father’s arms to claim her award.

“That really tears your heartstrings,” he said.

Relay teams turned the west end of the stadium into a campground, pitching colorful tents and sparking up barbecue grills for the all-night affair. Each team tried to keep at least one member walking on the track throughout the night and into the morning.

Betty Wapp stopped at the information tent to buy a relay shirt in a shade of deep purple the color worn by cancer survivors. She heard about this year’s relay late and didn’t get registered but dropped by anyway. Wapp, whose breast cancer was diagnosed in 1991, said she was thrilled to see so many survivors walking.

“I know how these people feel,” she said. “I feel like I’m lucky to be alive.”