Hundreds of walkers took a giant step forward in the fight to find a cure for cancer.

The 79 teams that participated in this year’s Relay for Life of Douglas County reached their goal, raising more than $172,000 for the American Cancer Society.

Volunteers from each team spent the night Friday walking around the track at Free State High School until early Saturday morning.

Stacie Schroeder, the American Cancer Society’s community manager for development, said the event also surpassed last year’s canned food donations. Organizers collected between 4,000 and 5,000 items that will be donated to local food pantries and the Lawrence Humane Society.