2026 Hit The Bricks Fundraiser: Wake Forest relay sets records; cancer fund tops $2.1 million

Wake Forest University’s annual Hit the Bricks fundraiser has set another record, drawing 2,406 runners and walkers and raising nearly $407,000 for cancer research and patient care. The Oct. 1 event surpassed the previous year’s fundraising and participation records, according to Wake Forest News, while the university’s Hit the Bricks website and Office of Civic and Community Engagement provide additional details about the event’s long-running role in supporting the Brian Piccolo Cancer Research Fund. Held on the Wake Forest campus in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Hit the Bricks brings students, faculty, staff, alumni and members of the wider community together for a day-long relay around the university’s Quad. Participants take turns running or walking laps, with teams raising money throughout the event.The 2026 edition saw participants complete 11,862 laps while collectively raising nearly $407,000 for the Brian Piccolo Cancer Research Fund, which supports cancer research and patient services at the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist. The latest total represents a jump from 2025, when more than 2,264 participants raised over $348,000. Atrium Health ...