‘Hit the Bricks’ marks 36 years of student-funded cancer research

‘Hit the Bricks,’ an eight-hour relay race along the brick pathway of Hearn Plaza to raise money for cancer research in honor of Brian Picccolo, will be held on Oct. 6 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.  A final remembrance lap for cancer victims and survivors culminates with a luminary ceremony in front of Wait Chapel at the end of the event, which brings Wake Foresters together for a cause that long has been important to the community.

Over the course of the eight-hour race, Wake Forest students, faculty and staff as well as friends of the University will race to see who can run the most laps around Hearn Plaza and raise the most money.

The Brian Piccolo Cancer Research Fund was started by students in 1980 in memory of the Wake Forest All-American football player, Brian Piccolo, who attended Wake Forest in the 1960s, went on to become a running back for the Chicago Bears, and died in 1970 of embryonal cell carcinoma at the age of 26.

At the inaugural Hit the Bricks held in 2003, 17 teams participated and raised nearly $4,000. In 2015, Hit the Bricks met its goal with 100 teams raising more than $42,000 to find a cure for cancer. All of the funds raised support the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

For more information about Hit the Bricks and the Brian Piccolo Cancer Research Fund, please visit http://wfuhitthebricks.com.