On Friday night, June 27th at 7pm I participated in the Central Colorado Springs Relay for Life. It is a fun event that takes place for 12 hours. They say “Cancer never sleeps and for 12 hours, neither will we” so we walk from 7pm to 7am as a team in order to celebrate survivors and remember those lost to cancer. I ended up walking 22.5 miles for the night around the track at The Grace Center and raised $200 for Zach’s Team and for cancer awareness and support.

The weather was wonderful and as the opening ceremonies got underway we thought we might see lots of rain. Instead, we had a few sprinkles for about 10 minutes or so and lots of rainBOWS.  It was soooo cool.  Read   We watched weather move around us all night long but it didn’t rain where we were.  At night, the temperatures were pleasant and around 2 am or so only light jackets were needed. That is way different that some Relay events in the past where we needed several layers of clothing and frequent stops in the bathrooms to warm up.  Texas Roadhouse served us a great dinner and Dominos and Louie’s Pizza provided us with a late night pizza snack.  Along with the walking, there were movies, games, singing and even line dancing.  We even had a silent auction for some great gift cards and treats to help raise money for cancer.  Some campsites had things you could buy like glowsticks and flashing lights for donations to the cause, others had services like massages you could get for a small donation.  There was even a poker game this year with all the money going to The American Cancer Society (ACS).

Around 9:00 there was a Ceremony of Hope. The lights go down at The Grace Center and the track is lined with luminaria bags.  Each one has the name of someone battling or lost to cancer.  Inside each luminaria bag was a glow stick and as we walked, the names written on the bag are read.  It is a really moving ceremony and in the stands, luminaria bags spell out the word “HOPE”.  Each person named on the bags represent a person who has been profoundly affected by cancer.  This celebration gives us a chance to reflect on how much cancer affects our lives and how we need to find a “CURE” for the disease.

I can take donations for this event through the end of the month so if you would like to help me in my fund raising efforts click here to Donate

Thank you to everyone who supports me and my team in our efforts to raise money for cancer research and support.  Because of you, lives are being saved and changed.  Because of you, the hope for a cancer-free future goes on.