Relay Success!

First, let me tell you that we raised $1717!!! Go team!! (Considering when Dena started this, she thought we'd be lucky to bring in $500.... which I did on my own, and she surpassed on her own.) Yaieeee us!

The total amount reportedly brought in my the whole Relay in the Bay was $66,000. That is $23,000 more than the goal for the year. And this was just at the presentation time...finally tally still to be announced. :)

This was only the third year for the Bay area to have our own relay, independant from the main Halifax one. Year one they had only 10 teams and raised only about $20K. Last year there were 12 teams, raising approx $32K. So they figured on maybe 15 teams this year, with a goal of $43K. We ended up with 23 teams and more than 120% of the goal in funds.

Saturday was GORGEOUS all day. Some of us met up at Dena's early to pack up our gear and get to the field early for set up. We got there around 4:45 and pitched out tents, and set out our chairs and got ourselves all registered, etc. Two of the team members were going to be late, but the rest of the group was there by 5:30 and ready to get to it. (There are only 9 of us in total....small team.)

We had opted for a tropical theme for our site, but because of last minute decisions on that and a lack of places to hang things, it didn't quite work out how I had hoped. Learned lots of things this year, so we can do better next time. The wind ended up whipping a few of our things down pretty much right away...but it was a good idea at the time. :)

Just as they started announcing that it was time to start gathering for the opening ceremonies, the clouds shifted and the sun disappeared. Silly Nova Scotia weather. We all ended up in our sweaters immediately after the first lap.

They opened the Relay with a parade of RCMP in full dress and the bagpipers. Very nice. Then the Survivers Lap....so emotional. Dena and I were both standing there trying to suck up the tears. We don't even know these people, but what they represent is why we were there. Young, old, men, women, healthy and not-so-healthy. They are all fighters.

We did our first lap as a team, then the plan was to break off into pairs so no one was walking alone. Each pair would do 10 laps, then trade off with the next pair. In the beginning, most of us just stayed on and walked as a group because we were revved to go and didn't feel the need to sit around our campsite. Of course, a couple of hours in the rain came, so then we cut back to only the necessary few people on the track. The rain didn't last too long though....we used the time to work on some of our glow-in-the-dark accessories inside the big tent and took turns going into the cafeteria for coffees and bathroom breaks. By the time we got through that, the heavier rains had stopped and it was time for the Luminary ceremony.

The luminaries represent honor or memory of a loved one that passed on due to cancer. I chose not to buy these for Dad and Grandma this year, but after seeing the ceremony and watching all of the lanterns be lit, I will definitely be doing that next year. It was especially moving.

For the rest of the evening the rain kind of held off. It was more of an annoying mist made cold because of the light wind. Most of us ended up walking pretty much the whole time just to stay warm. No sense in sitting still in a camping chair, when you can be up and moving around. I did take a one hour rest snuggled up in my sleeping bag between 1:30 - 2:30, but other than that and a few indoor coffee breaks I kept on walking. I changed my pants and socks somewhere in the middle of the night and that helped refresh me....next year I'll remember a toque and some gloves. My hips and ankles started to get achy around midnight, but nothing to hold me back. It wasn't until morning that I noticed a blister on one toe and it wasn't until they had us standing still for a ceremony that I really started to stiffen up.

The "track" was around a football field, so we figured about 400m. Calculated at about 10 laps per hour, for 12 hours this is about 48km. Now obviously we didn't each do 10 laps EVERY hour, but some hours we kept going for 20-30 laps, so I think this is a good estimate. I wish I had a garmin or something to track it by. Maybe next year.

By about 4am I think we were all starting to get a bit nutty, and most of us just got together and kept on walking. At 5am they put out some food for us, then started the closing ceremonies. They gave prizes for most money and such, and for the relayer with the most stamina (there was one guy who seemed to never get off the track). They presented the huge check for $66,000. We all started to get pretty stiff just standing there....believe it or not we wished we were still walking. :) After that, everyone did the final lap and then started to tear down camp.

It ended up being just shy of the 12 hours by the time we packed up. It was messy and muddy, but we made short work of the treks back and forth to the cars with all of our soggy gear. We were on the road by 6:15, and I was in a hot shower by about 6:30.

I thank our whole team for doing this. I know that not every one of you is as passionate about this as Dena and I were, but your support through all of this was amazing. THANK YOU....Cosette, Amanda, Tara, Darren, Gwyneth, Nic & Candace. I look forward to next year, and hope that we can recruit a few more bodies for the cause.

I thank all of our supporters. Without your donations we may have lost our drive or our hope, but because of you all we just kept on pushing through the wet, cold weather and the sore hips and soggy shoes. We will call again on you all next year. THANKS AGAIN.