Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Long Beach Relay For Life has kicked off yet another season of fund-raising. On March 11, 32 members of the community and regulars at Pure Fitness at South Shore in Island Park showed their support during a 90 minute Spin-4-A-Cure event that raised several hundred of dollars for The American Cancer Society.
The idea began when Maureen Romig, a community organizer of this year’s Relay For Life, approached Elaine Killarney, a fitness instructor and trainer, about hosting the event. After running the idea past owner Gail Razler, the two decided to recruit fitness instructor and personal trainer Tom Florio, and opened its doors on a Friday night to hold the ride.
Part of what makes Relay For Life so unique is its ability to bring together groups of people who all have a similar goal: fighting back against cancer. There is something about being at Relay For Life and feeling the support of more than 1,000 people there with you.
This year, the Long Beach Relay For Life is looking for any and everybody interested in being a part of the event and is encouraging people to get involved. People can start teams on-line at www.relayforlife.org/longbeachny. Teams can consist of family, friends, co-workers or even your buddies at the gym.
At Relay For Life, we celebrate cancer survivors and their caregivers with a Survivor’s Reception. This year it will take place on May 14 at 5:30 p.m. in the Long Beach Middle School cafeteria. Survivors are then asked to join outside on the track to take the opening victory lap, followed by a lap with their caregivers. At night, we take a moment to remember our loved ones we lost to cancer by taking a memory lap in silence around a track lined with candle-lit bags. These bags are known as luminarias, or small paper lanterns, which include a person’s name and message.
Join The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Long Beach on May 14 from 7 p.m. to midnight at the Long Beach Middle School track and help people stay well, get well, find cures, and fight back against cancer! For more information, please visit www.relayforlife.org/longbeachny.
Michelle Maugeri is the American Cancer Society’s Director of Special Events, Nassau Region
