In 1985, Dr. Gordon Klatt started the idea. The idea to help fund research for cancer. One of his main passions was to run marathons. He ran for a full 24 hours straight one time. Once he had accomplished this, more people started running and donating money for studying. Thus, Relay For Life was born.
In March 2011, my dad and I did the Big Climb at the Columbia Tower in Seattle. It was all for leukemia, with very fulfilling purposes.
That was pretty fun and also difficult, but it was totally different from Relay For Life. Walking out onto the Cedar Heights field was stunning. It might not have been so stunning for folks who have done Relay before, but for me, oh my.
I wasn’t expecting to see and hear what I did. The encouraging music like “Stronger” by Kelly Clarkson and “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor. Also the people walking, the colorful stands and tents, and all the people having fun!
I saw people doing cartwheels, throwing the Frisbee, or just talking with fellow relayers! This fantastic event reminded me of a huge family reunion. When you’re going to be up from 5 p.m. Saturday to 10 a.m. Sunday, I guess you have to have something to do!
And what a gorgeous day it was. Mother Nature must have been thinking about a way to donate herself. All the relayers were blessed with beautiful weather.
Who would have known there were so many donating companies. I noticed Fred Meyer, Kohl’s, Covington Aquatic Center and many more. They all had clever names, too! Team Marty, Out of Steppers Looking for Hope, and Defeat the Beast were just some.
Every person there had a reason to be there too. It could be that themselves or a loved one was a survivor, a loved one had passed, or they just were supporting the cause. Nevertheless, we had so many people there fighting for the cure.
At around 5 p.m. the opening ceremony started. Before anyone started talking, the VFW and Kentwood JROTC did the flag ceremony and we recited the Pledge of the Allegience then we sang along to the Star Spangled Banner.
A few people talked including the mother of Relay For Life herself, Pat Flynn. From her I learned why I saw purple everywhere. Purple shirts, pants, shoes, tutus, wigs, hair, everything! The reason behind this is because purple represents all types of cancer, and it also represents hope. You have to have hope, to fight for a cure.
Dr. Klatt was diagnosed with stomach cancer recently. After many procedures and lots of hope, there was no sign of disease in his body. This is why we fight back.
To kick off the event, the first lap was for survivors. They lined up behind the grand stand on the track, each holding a purple balloon in their hand. When the walk started, they all let their balloon go and started going. They met their caretaker at the halfway mark, so they could finish out the lap together.
Next was honoring our heroes. Anyone who at all serves the community or country went on their own lap. The police officers led the way on their motorcycles, lights on and all.
Then all the teams would take turns doing their laps. Finally, it was free for all walking! During that time I got to know some of the people in different teams. Other than relayers donating money, the teams sold things that benefited Relay For Life. For example, I talked with Royanne Schmitz, a 25 year cancer survivor. They had raffle baskets, bracelets, T-shirts, water bottles, and so on.
Also, I talked to the ladies at Defeat the Beast. I talked to Jenene Conklin and Debbie Goodrich. They both had reasons to be a relayer. Jenene lost some loved ones to cancer and Debbie’s mom, Lynn Norton, is a survivor! Jenene is a 10-year relayer, and a four-year team captain. Once a relayer always a relayer!
“Cancer can take you by surprise, and the process can be very difficult. Having all these people here as support can really help so much,” said Debbie Goodrich, a newsletter editor.
Just so you know, Debbie is hoping to bring her parrots next year. You will be able to take pictures with him and there might be a performance on stage!
As you see, there are many people here to support the cause, as well as have fun. I also talked to Louis Damey, a member of the VFW. He was proud to be a part of the VFW and to be performing the flag ceremony. Also the members of the VFW post were happy to support Relay For Life.
Some of the other things sold were lemonade, popcorn, water, cupcakes, and glow sticks. When it started to get dark it was super fun to see people with the purple glow sticks on their necks or heads.
There were other super funny things happening at the relay. I saw people running while pulling huge wagons full of kids, I saw a couple clowns, and Debbie Goodrich saw a bunch of men, maybe 20, dressed up as women for cancer! Yeah, it was so fun!
At about 9:30 p.m., the luminaria lighting ceremony started. Bags were lit up with different color candles on the track. It was very beautiful to see the bags everywhere and to see the writing on them. Some were in honor of survivors, while others were in memory of passed loved ones.
There was a performance at the grand stand by Tim Clark. He performed “Amazing Grace” on the violin. As the beautiful sound of the instrument penetrated the silence I thought about all the people there to fight and support the research to find the cure for cancer.
To enhance the luminaria, we all took a lap in silence to look at the names on all of the lit bags. Emotions filled the air. Sorrow of a passed love one, joy of a survivor, everything reflected why we were all here. And during that lap, I realized how deep of a passion everyone really had for this.
J.D. Drollinger then gave us a wonderful speech about how a song, “Everything” by Michael Buble, can make you think about Relay. If you listened to the lyrics, it reflected a situation someone could have battling with cancer. The song made me thing about what we’re all going to do about it. Two words. Fight back. I will never listen to that song the same again. Next time you hear it, think about what you’re going to do.
I know basically everyone stayed up all night walking, but I left at around midnight. I can tell you I am not a night owl. I’m such a party pooper at sleepovers. So you can imagine that I could barely keep my eyes open.
But for this next event, you didn’t need to see. The end for my night was mind-blowing. The Tahoma High School Drum Line. These boys were good.
They performed a few songs that were upbeat and fun. A steady beat that made me resist dancing. Booms that made my heart jump with it. Sometimes they’d do little dance moves along with the song.
There isn’t too much you could do with a gigantic drum strapped to your chest, but they did put the drum down on the ground and boom on it for a dramatic ending. But that was so fun everyone was so energetic to be back to walking for another nine hours. Maybe.
I just want to say that some of the info I learned from Pat was astonishing. I learned that over the weekend, there were 450 Relay For Life events around the country.
Also, more three million people contribute each year. Those numbers make you think how people can make a difference in the world.
Since 1985, Relay For Life has raised more than five billion, with a B, dollars! That means that because of the right research, two out of three of cancer patients are surviving! Around 400 more lives being saved each day.
We’re here to fight back. Our goal is to make more birthdays possible. And that’s exactly, what’s happening. So join Relay, and fight for the cure.
Annie Livengood of Covington is an aspiring journalist and sixth grader at Crestwood Elementary.
