Caithness Relay for Life smashes records as £125k is raised

1 / 11

2 / 11

3 / 11

4 / 11

5 / 11

6 / 11

7 / 11

8 / 11

9 / 11

10 / 11

11 / 11

A STAGGERING £125,000 was raised at the Caithness Relay for Life despite severe weather conditions bringing the event to a premature end.

Organisers were forced to pull the plug on the fundraiser – the biggest ever held in the Far North – in the early hours of Sunday as gale-force winds and heavy rain swept the county.

Sixty-five teams out of the 74 registered braved the elements to walk, run and dance around the track as proceedings got under way at the Dammies in Thurso on Saturday.

The relay, for Cancer Research UK, was the biggest in the country, attracting almost double the turnout of any other event.

But at 2am on Sunday the announcement came the event was being called off as conditions became treacherous for those taking part – up to 50mm of rain was estimated to have fallen in the town on Sunday night and northerly winds reached speeds of 55 mph.

Health-and-safety officials ruled the event had to be abandoned – despite protests from participants who were asked to leave the track to take shelter in the tents set up around the field and football pavilion.

Despite the premature finish to the day’s proceedings, organising committee chairwoman Audrey Gunn said the charity is still the winner.

“I couldn’t believe the determination everyone showed, despite the awful conditions,” she told the Caithness Courier.

“The weather actually held off during the family fun day which was very well attended by local people. It also held off at the opening ceremony and we got the relay off to a good start. But things took a turn for the worse by 7pm as that was when the first downpour arrived.

“We hoped that it would have just been a short-term thing, but it was relentless. It didn’t seem to stop at all from the moment it started.”

She added: “As the event went on, it became more dangerous for the participants. The track was starting to get extremely muddy and people were starting to slip. After midnight the winds got really high. To people’s credit they wanted to continue right through until 6am. But common sense had to prevail and it was the sensible decision to call it off.”

In 2008 the inaugural Caithness Relay for Life raised a grand total of £114,000.

Given the economic situation, organisers did not expect to break that figure and would have been delighted to raise half that amount.

But those involved had other ideas as they had worked tirelessly, raising as much as possible for the charity.

Miss Gunn (41) said organisers couldn’t believe it when they totalled up the amount raised so far, and said money is still coming in.

“The people in Caithness never fail to amaze me!” she said. “Despite having a record amount of teams, we didn’t dare think that we would be able to beat the amount in 2008.

“The effort that everyone put in was amazing and the generosity that people have shown is unbelievable. There was such a lively, party atmosphere throughout the day when participants and visitors got into the spirit of the occasion.

“Even the weather couldn’t ruin what was a special moment for everyone who took part.”

*Share your Relay for Life story below and see today's Caithness Courier for more news from Saturday's event.

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.