Sunrise at the Relay for Life

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It started with an inspirational survivor lap and, fueled by camaraderie, adrenaline and live music, continued through the evening. The emotion of the luminaria ceremony, and the carbohydrates of the late-night pizza, kept it moving – trudging even, through the night.
Now, before dawn on Sunday, the American Cancer Society Relay For Life was entering the last of its 24 hours. The city of tents within the track was dark, but on the track at least one member of each of the 64 teams walked lap after lap – on their way to raising $162,000.
Renea Magnani, volunteer event chairman for the August 1-2 event, said money will continue to trickle in through August. The overall take is down compared to last year, but spirits are not. “In this economy, the fact that we had 64 teams, and everybody out in full force, speaks well of the community,” she said. “People coming together – it means so much.”
The high school track was circled by two rings of luminaria. The outer oval was dedicated to cancer victims; the inner, to survivors. The bags had hand-written messages, drawings, and photos. They had the names of loved ones,  friends, and neighbors.
“It’s hard not be moved,” Stacie Hedley said. The scene was poignant, candle light, dark sky, a pre-dawn stillness, “I love this time. I feel like I get more out of it,” she said. A member of the Mother’s Club, a huge supporter of the event, Hedley lost her father to cancer. Like most walkers, she recognizes names in each ring. “It’s so peaceful.”
Shelley Vollert was walking with Hedley, briskly, but in the moment. “It’s so serene.” She started at 4 a.m. and would continue for at least two hours. Also like many participants, she said she had, “heard how awesome it was to be here. You’ve got to experience it. They were right.”
A 25-person committee, at work since January, had wrangled and cajoled donations of nearly everything but the socks off Dr. Scholl’s feet. There was the full day of entertainers, gratis, plus all the non-stop food and drink. Volunteers ran registration, set up recycling and composting stations, and even found sponsors for the Port-a-Potties.
Magnani, her kids asleep in an RV just beyond the fence, shared  her “favorite part of the day.” A tradition of the 12th annual event is a salute to cancer survivors, who then walk a ceremonial lap. Most survivors leave, but one elderly gentleman, Magnani said, wanted to hang around. She found a team to adopt him and being instantly befriended, he stuck around well into the evening. “As he left he told me how satisfying a day it had been,” she related. “He was so happy to have been a part of it.”
As planned, Magnani will make way for a new event chair next year, but will remain close by for mentoring and training. “The perfect person is out there,” she said, “Someone to take the position and run with it.”
As the cloudy sky grew light Sunday morning, people in the tents began to stir. Members of the next shift straggled in from the parking lot. There were yawns and some stretching. Hair grooming had not been a priority.
Rhonda Stallings was walking the track with Rich Lee. Motivated by a cancer scare to one of their peers, the staff of 20 from her veterinary clinic has participated as a team, “The Cancer Avengers,” in the Relay for five years.
The event’s fundraising formula calls for each team to donate an average of $100 per member. Stallings did it a little differently. She raffled off a year of free pet care, with tickets for sale at her clinic well in advance of the Relay, and raised $4,000.
By now it was fully light. Bagels, orange juice and coffee arrived, and the quarter-mile course altered slightly as the walkers went beyond the oval to help themselves. One mom pushed a stroller, another pulled a wagon.
People emerged from their cozy tents with toothbrushes, sleeping bags and at least one fluffy stuffed animal. Others hit the track. There were the fully-bundled, and the more optimistic clad in shorts and T-shirts. They joined or relieved team members as the walk continued.
The circle would remain, until the 24-hour mark at 10 a.m., unbroken.