These Rules (the "Rules") apply to all Relay For Life events (each an "Event").
By registering for an Event you confirm that you have read, accepted and will comply with these Rules, and that you have made any other adult participants you register aware of these Rules - so that they can do the same.
If you are the parent or legal guardian of a child under the age of 18, by registering or allowing your child to be registered for an Event you are consenting to these Rules and you are agreeing to their participation in the Event subject to these Rules and – for any child under the age of 16 - under your / an accompanying adult’s direct supervision.
We may amend these Terms and Conditions at any time by updating this page so please check this page from time to time. By continuing to be registered for Events, you will be deemed to have consented to and accepted any amended terms and conditions with effect from the date of the amendment.
Relay For Life is organised by volunteers from a Relay For Life Committee on behalf of Cancer Research UK (“we, “us” or “CRUK”). Cancer Research UK is a registered charity in England and Wales (1089464), Scotland (SC041666), the Isle of Man (1103) and Jersey (247) also operating in Northern Ireland. The Cancer Research UK name and logo is a registered trademark of Cancer Research UK and the Relay For Life name and logo is a registered trademark of the American Cancer Society.
If you have any questions about Relay for Life you can find details of ways to contact at us at https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-us/contact-us. If you have any questions about a specific event you can contact the local Relay For Life Committee contact listed on the website for your Event (using our Find your local Relay tool).
Entrants under the age of 18 must have the permission of their parent or legal guardian to be registered for or take part in the Event.
Entrants under the age of 16 may only participate in an Event if:
they are under the direct supervision of their parent or legal guardian / an accompanying adult aged 18 or over who is also registered for the Event;
their parent or legal guardian has read and accepted these Rules on their behalf and take responsibility for their participation in the Event in accordance with these Rules;
their parent or legal guardian’s contact details were provided when registering for the Event.
We reserve the right to refuse entry to any participant who is under age, not accompanied as required or is unable to provide satisfactory proof of age when requested to do so by an Event official.
Your Event place is personal to you, and you may not transfer your place to anyone else, as it may cause problems of identification in the event that medical assistance is required during the Event, for example.
Water and food as required
Suitable clothing and footwear (taking into account the weather forecast)
A mobile phone with full battery
The emergency procedure and emergency contact details (provided at the start)
If the event is overnight, camping equipment e.g. tent and sleeping bag
You can contact the local Relay For Life Committee contact listed on the website for your Event (using our Find your local Relay tool for details about the accessibility of each Event, including whether an Event is wheelchair accessible and/or suitable for pushchairs. You can also contact us at https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-us/contact-us with any other questions about accessibility.
We reserve the right to postpone, alter and/or cancel the Event in our absolute discretion due to factors such as (but not limited to) adverse weather conditions.
Once you have registered for an Event, you can only transfer to another Event with our permission. There can be strict capacity limits for Events, and we need to make sure that no Event exceeds its individual capacity. If you wish to transfer to a different Event or (where applicable), please contact at us at https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-us/contact-us.
On the day of the Event we ask that:
You do not use aggressive or abusive language towards Event officials, suppliers, volunteers and other participants.
You avoid behaving in a way which may cause injury or harm to other participants and/or spectators, or which may cause offence or damage the reputation of CRUK.
You do not smoke tobacco products or use e-cigarettes whilst at your Event. Cancer Research UK opposes the promotion and use of tobacco in all its forms.
You are respectful of local residents while you are on your Event route, which includes not making any excessive noise.
You use the litter and recycling facilities available at your Event or take litter home with you to dispose of responsibly.
Please abide by the rules above and ensure any child participants you accompany, and any supporters joining you, at an Event act in accordance with these rules too.
You, your supporters and any children you accompany must also follow any instructions or regulations displayed or given before or on the day of the Event by CRUK, police and/or Event officials, including those relating to the health and safety of participants and supporters.
You can take part with their dogs at a wide selection of venues. Please note service dogs are permitted at all Events.
If an Event venue allows dogs and you do bring a dog to your Event, you are responsible for that dog at all times and must make sure that:
the dog is kept on a short lead (extending leads are not suitable), under close control at all times, and any usual equipment (muzzle / harness etc.) used to control the dog is used on the day;
the dog has a collar with a clearly identifiable tag;
adequate water is supplied for the dog to keep them hydrated;
any dog mess is cleaned up and disposed of responsibly;
the dog is not kept in a car on a hot day; and
all instructions given by volunteers and officials on the day are followed, including starting your Event after other participants if required.
Relay For Life is a family event and alcohol, where permitted at a venue, should be consumed only in moderation. Should an Event venue not allow alcohol consumption then all participants must abide by their rules.
We reserve the right to ask anyone to leave the Event if they do not follow these Rules, if they bring a dog (which is not a service dog) to a race for life venue where dogs are not allowed, or if they are behaving inappropriately or in a manner such as to cause disturbance or annoyance to other guests or participants.
You are responsible for ensuring that you or your child (in the case of parents or legal guardians of child participants) are sufficiently fit and healthy to take part in your Event. Anyone unsure of their physical ability to take part in an Event for any reason, including pregnancy or any health condition, must seek advice from a general practitioner before registering and taking part in the Event.
Regardless of any medical advice you receive we reserve the right to refuse entry to an Event in our absolute discretion, with no refund provided, if for whatever reason we consider you are unfit to take part. We may also ask you to withdraw during an Event if we have concerns about your ability to complete it due to fitness, injury or otherwise. If you choose to continue in the Event despite this request you do so on the understanding that you are no longer considered a participant of the Event and that you absolve CRUK of all and any responsibility (as far as permitted by law), and progress entirely at your own risk.
Should you leave the Event course or decide not to complete the route for any reason, you should notify the Event organisers on the day so we can account for your whereabouts.
You are responsible for ensuring that you (and any child you are accompanying) are wearing appropriate attire (including footwear) when taking part in your Event, taking into account the nature of the Event, the weather forecast and the terrain involved.
We take all reasonable steps to minimise the risk of injury to participants during fundraising events. Notwithstanding these steps you acknowledge the possible risk in the nature of the Events as public exercise. Stringent risk assessment processes are in place for the Event which aim to minimise or eliminate the risk to everyone taking part. By taking part in an Event, you also acknowledge that there may be conditions or circumstances beyond our control that can lead to unforeseen risks. If you have any concerns or queries, please contact us at https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-us/contact-us before registering for or taking part in your Event.
Any monies raised in connection with the Event are held on trust for Cancer Research UK, and therefore you have a legal responsibility to ensure that all sponsorship monies/donations received by you for the Event are paid to CRUK. We ask that you do this as soon as possible after your Event. You can:
a) Do this through your Relay organising committee before and/or on the day of the Event;
b) Do this through the Relay for Life online fundraising platform (see full T&Cs here).
c) Pay in your sponsorship money online with your credit or debit card or call us on 0300 123 1022 with your credit or debit card details.
d) Send a cheque made payable to "Cancer Research UK" (stating your full name, your unique reference number provided in your registration confirmation email and the name of your Event on a cover letter and the reverse of the cheque) to:
Relay For Life PO Box 1561 Oxford OX4 9GZ
The personal data you provide to the Committee and/or CRUK when you register for the Event, will be used for the purposes of organising, staging and administering the Event, including sending you your fundraising pack. The Committee and/or CRUK may also contact you to discuss your fundraising activity and follow up on your progress.
Following your registration, we will contact you with information about your Event, including to discuss ways to improve your fundraising and hints and tips to support your preparation for your event.
In order to recognise outstanding commitment to fundraising, we may share your information with the American Cancer Society (ACS) for the purpose of nominating you for to become an ambassador. We would always seek your permission if the nomination included any information relating to your personal history with cancer, provided you had not already made this information publicly known in local or national media. If you do not wish us to put you forward for any awards, please contact relay@cancer.org.uk or your current point of contact with CRUK.
Subject to the marketing preferences we hold for you, your personal information may also be used for the purposes of sending communications to you where you have confirmed when registering for the Event that you would like to receive further information about the work of the Committee and/or CRUK.
If you provide personal data on behalf of additional entrants, please only provide this if they have confirmed that they are happy for you to do so as we will use this information for the same purposes.
In the case of an emergency we may pass any personal details provided by you (either when registering for the Event or otherwise) to the emergency services or health care professionals, and also use them for the purposes of contacting your emergency contacts.
First aid facilities will be provided at each Event. If you are treated by medical providers, your details may be passed to the Committee and to CRUK. We shall only use these details for health and safety purposes and to fulfil our legal obligations (including those under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013.) All accident details will be held on the Cancer Research UK Accident Database in line with statutory requirements.
We may pass on your initials and surname to local newspapers so that a list of entrants can appear in a news supplement about specific Events. We will not pass on the details of participants who are under 16.
All personal data held by CRUK will be handled in accordance with applicable privacy laws and CRUK's Privacy Statement which can be found at https://www.cruk.org/privacy.
Please note that we (or our authorised service providers and agents) or our commercial partners may film (including through the use of aerial and/or drone photography / videography) or photograph participants, volunteers and spectators taking part or attending Events and use such footage or photographs for the following reasons:
a) to publicise the Event for commercial and/or fundraising purposes including, but not limited to, television broadcasts, advertising, publications, marketing material, merchandising, and other documents that may be made available to the public; and
b) for our commercial partners to publicise their involvement and/or association with the Event;
c) to share with the American Cancer Society for the promotion of our work together with them;
d) for other commercial and/or fundraising activities in support of Cancer Research UK’s work including, but not limited to, television broadcasts, advertising, publications, marketing material, merchandise, social media, personalised direct mail, social media and other documents that may be made available to the public.
Whilst photographers will try to obtain parental/legal guardian's consent before taking images where children are more than just incidentally included, this cannot be guaranteed.
Please only register a participant who is under the age of 16 if the participant and/or parent/legal guardian (as applicable) are happy for their images to be used in the manner described in these Rules.
If you are not happy with having your or your child’s image taken and used in the ways described above, please let the relevant representatives know as soon as possible upon arriving at the Event.
Use of the CRUK website is subject to our website terms and conditions.
All participants and spectators attend and enter an Event entirely at their own risk. CRUK shall not be liable for any injury, damage or loss to persons or their property that might occur as a result of their participation in or attendance at an Event other than in respect of any injury or loss arising as a result of our negligence. For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this section shall limit our liability for any other liability that cannot be limited or excluded by law.
If you have any questions about Relay for Life you can find details of ways to contact at us at https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-us/contact-us. If you have any questions about a specific Event you can contact the local Relay For Life Committee contact listed on the website for your Event (using our Find your local Relay tool).
Last updated: October 2025
