Relay for Life

Every year, the American Cancer Society has an event called Relay for Life. Its purpose is to raise awareness and money to help fight cancer. Thousands of communities across the country hold the event throughout the year. Families, friends and companies put together teams that participate by collecting donations with the promise that they will walk around a track for twenty-four hours straight.

A few places on the peninsula held the event over the weekend. At the one I attended, signs and cones on the field outlined the track, which distanced roughly an eighth of a mile. Team tents and tables stood at one end of the track, along with the dining canopy. Temporary restroom facilities stood at the other end. Between the tents and restrooms, organizers erected a stage for live music and special presentations.

Of the seven teams that collected donations, only four five had members walking and we seemed to be one of merely two that had somebody on the track the entire time. To be honest, I was only there for five of the twenty-four hours, but based on what I know of my team, I would wager we had every minute of the day and night covered.

For sustenance, the dining canopy had an assortment of fruits, snacks and energy bars available. They served pasta, salad and bread for dinner and IHOP sponsored the Sunday morning breakfast. Much to my delight, they had tea and coffee on hand in addition to bottled water and the usual assortment of sport drinks.

Our team had an eight-person tent, a card table, an assortment of chairs and a heat lamp. Our tiny camp must have been the most elaborate one there. If I could have stayed the night, I would have, but my back was unhappy after two and a half hours of walking and I didn't want to make it grumpier.

We stuck around long enough to see the luminarias lit around the track. A luminaria is a white bag that contains a candle and has the name of a loved one written on it. In the bleachers of the adjacent football field, they were arranged to spell hope, which may sound cheesy, but was rather moving as we watched the word glow brighter as the sun set.

I don't know how much money the event raised, since I couldn't find any articles about it online, but if I were to fathom a guess, I would put the figure between five and seven thousand dollars. Considering that it's the town's inaugural event, it's a respectable number and one that is bound to rise in the years to come.