McMaster 24 Hours of Sport

As per Marauder tradition, the Cross Country and Track teams participate in the annual Relay for Life event, supporting the Canadian Cancer Society. However, this year the Relay for Life fell the same weekend as the 2015 CIS Track and Field Championships in Windsor.

As many of us were planning to travel to Windsor to support our lone Marauder, Jeff Tweedle in the Men's 1000m event, we decided to change up the tradition this year. Instead, we entered a McMaster XC/Track team into the 24 Hours of Sport event (doubling the number of hours of Relay for Life, which is only 12 hours). The event began at 3pm on Friday March 27th and ended 3pm Saturday March 28th.

This event consisted of 24 Hours of organized sports; from basketball, spin classes and rock climbing to bubble soccer, water polo and dodgeball. Money raised was donated to the charities McMaster Athletes Care and Right to Play. Our team of 15 raised $450 towards the cause.

Needless to say, our all participants were exhausted by the end,  but deemed the event a success.

Here are a few photos of Marauders in action!

The Passing of a Friend of the McMaster XC Family

As a team, our successes are really just the culmination of the efforts of so many amazing individuals who support us throughout our seasons. One such person this fall season was our student field therapist Riley. She shared her extensive knowledge and experience, positive attitude and caring hands at all times. She has an incredible way of being two steps ahead of every problem, keeps an eye out for each person and was a key member in keeping our teammates healthy this Cross Country season.

Not only is she also busy in her fourth year of the Honours Kinesiology program at McMaster, she a tremendous athlete herself. She won two Gold medals in the 2015 OUA Figure Skating Championships, one in a pairs event and one in an individual event, awarding her OUA All-Star Status.

Here is a link to the Article in the Silhouette about Riley's fantastic accomplishments.
More than Just a Medal

On top of all this, her sister Carley was re-diagnosed with cancer this year, after having won a battle with the same disease years earlier.

We are sorry to say that Riley's sister Carley passed away yesterday morning after a valiant battle with clear-cell sarcoma. To show our support for Riley and her family we will be making a donation to Riley's fundraising for her Ride To Conquer Cancer.

Anyone else who is interested in donating, here is the link to Riley's Page. Any and all support is appreciated.
Riley Allison's Ride To Conquer Cancer Fundraising Page