Emerging from his tent near the North Whidbey Middle School track and entering the Saturday morning sunlight, Major “Butch” Laurion laced up his tennis shoes and said to himself, “Let’s try for 100 laps.”

The day before, this executive director of Armed Services YMCA circled the track 65 times for North Whidbey’s Relay for Life, a lap for every year of his life.

From age eight to nine, Laurion was confined to an iron lung, paralyzed from the neck down by polio. Later in life, he underwent 18 skin cancer operations. Like many of the people proudly walking the track last weekend, he’s a survivor.

Relay for Life, an overnight event to raise money and awareness for the American Cancer Society, began at 5:30 p.m. Friday.

This year there were 83 teams and between 1,500 to 1,600 people who participated.

The field was suffused with colorful team campsites, loosely decorated to fit Victor Fleming’s vision of the Wizard of Oz and the Relay’s theme, “No place like hope.”

With choked speech, Coupeville Mayor Nancy Conard said in the opening ceremony that she was proud to be wearing a purple shirt, after fighting a winning battle against cancer for five years.

All present seemed to be affected by the disease in one way or another.

“My hope is one day we won’t need an event like this. I lost my best friend to cancer,” state Rep. Barbara Bailey said.

The “Survivor Lap” followed the ceremony, lead by the U.S. Marine Corps color guard. Over 100 people, some gripping hands and high-fiving the crowd, walked to Celine Dion’s “I’m Alive.” Laurion held the youngest cancer survivor, two-year-old Ayden Watts, on his shoulders. Watts was diagnosed with a rare lymphoma at age one.

“People were waving to him and smiling. He’s such a resilient kid. You’d never think anything was wrong,” Laurion said.

For Cheri Johnson, the “Survivor Lap” was strenuous but she was determined to make it around just once. Last week she had undergone surgery for skin cancer and she has battled breast cancer for four years.

“They wanted to give me a wheelchair, but I refused. I brought my tennis shoes and finished it,” Johnson said.

Around her neck was a laminated photo of her mother, who she lost to breast cancer last year. She’d also made a set of dog tags with her mother’s name engraved.

“This was a set she wanted. I was in the Army, and she died before I got them to her,” Johnson said.

As survivors crossed a finish line made up of an archway of purple balloons, they were greeted with cheers and hugs. Teams were welcomed to join the track.

Many walked for relatives and loved ones, but some teams walked for people who touched them in the community.

Ashley Daugherty, Kelly Braud and Hunnika Rodriguez from team Espresso Connection walked for a customer who died of cancer.

“We served them for nine years. This is for a great cause; it really makes you think about the community,” Daugherty said.

One of the more solemn moments of the evening began at 10 p.m. when Event Chair Linda Kaser explained the Luminaria ceremony.

Lining the track were more than 1,500 personalized bags with names and messages for cancer survivors and those who have died. The bags were lit with candles and names were displayed on a projector screen.

The Living Word Fellowship Band began with “Over the Rainbow,” popularized by Judy Garland, and the noise died down. A few people sung the lyrics softly and others were wrapped in hugs.

“Some of the songs will be celebratory for cancer survivors and some are sad. The intent is to bring out the emotion in everyone,” Kaser said.

Laurion said it was an awkward feeling, filling the bags with candles.

“I pulled up a bag and it was a lady I bought a house from, who died from breast cancer,” Laurion said. “It becomes personal.”

By noon Saturday, and after a night of hard rain, Laurion slowed his stride and finished a few feet from his campsite.

He’d reached 105 laps.

Despite the tribulations of aging, and health complications such as asthma and diabetes, Laurion managed 26 miles.

“I’m already planning for next year’s Relay for Life. I have to walk at least 66 laps,” he said, referring to his next birthday.

North Whidbey Relay for Life deposited $176,400 in donations by closing ceremonies on Saturday afternoon, and is only $8,600 short of their $185,000 goal. To donate, visit www.northwhidbeyrelay.org and click on the ruby slippers. Or call Linda Kaser at 360-679-1583. The final day for donations is Aug. 31.