Mariana Morrison digs deep for Relay for life

Huge crowds showed up for the Relay for Life on the weekend despite the weather.

If it hadn't been for the threat of Cyclone Lusi, Mariana Morrison reckons she would have cracked 100km at the Relay for Life solo.

Instead she battled her way to 70km before giving up in tears because of injury.

The shortening of the Cancer Society fundraiser on Saturday meant her 100km quest needed adjusting. Instead of postponing the attempt she decided to run around Lake Rotorua from her Ohinemutu home first and then continue running at the Rotorua International Stadium.

A pre-existing knee injury flared up at 26km of her road run by Okawa Bay and she was on the verge of hypothermia as she was driven to the stadium where she ran a further 44km, racking up 70km solo. A team of runners finished the 100km for her but she said she'd not been beaten.

"I've started looking at other ultra marathons I could do. When you find out someone you know has got cancer the first thing you want to do is the Relay for Life as that's the biggest fundraiser.

"I was crying and I just wanted to do it but the ambulance people checked me out and said I had to stop."

There were 44 teams registered for this year's Relay for Life, which was shortened after the severe weather warnings. Instead of running from 2pm Saturday to 12pm Sunday, it ended at 10pm Saturday.

Event co-ordinator Alia Ryan said about $45,000 had been raised so far and she expected teams to carry on with their fundraising for the next couple of weeks. She said the storm forecast had made it an "interesting week".

"They all put in a huge effort, it was really cool. Even though the track got a bit slippery towards the end everyone stayed out. We got massive money from the community, it's pretty amazing.

"Most of the teams were there because they lost someone special to them relatively recently. They don't care they're getting wet, it probably brings emotions to the surface and makes them more motivated.

"It blows me away how driven everyone is."

Check out page 13 for photos from the Relay for Life.