Soggy ground, sudden downpours and chilly temperatures Saturday
didn’t keep walkers and cancer survivors away from Morgan Hill’s
second Relay for Life, a 24-hour marathon to raise money for the
American Cancer Society.
MORGAN HILL – Soggy ground, sudden downpours and chilly temperatures Saturday didn’t keep walkers and cancer survivors away from Morgan Hill’s second Relay for Life, a 24-hour marathon to raise money for the American Cancer Society.
“It was a fantastic weekend,” said Chris Schilling, one of the event’s organizers. “We had 35 teams, 135 survivors, we grossed approximately $160,000, and we had great meals. We had less teams and made more money – how could you complain about that?”
The event, held at Community Park, lasts for 24 hours because, said organizers, “cancer never sleeps.” Each of the teams has at least one person walking the track at all times during the event.
Although the weather didn’t keep walkers away, it did cause a few problems. Bands scheduled to perform as part of the event had to be canceled, although the first band did play for more than an hour.
The rain also kept some from socializing between their walk times.
“Most people tended to just hunker down in their tents when they weren’t walking and the weather was bad,” Schilling said. “And I think fewer people, especially those with children, stayed the whole 24 hours. Some of the walkers just came for their shift and then left.”
One of the popular features of the event, the luminarias – paper bags with candles inside – lit for cancer victims lining the track, was definitely threatened by the weather. But the more than 2,000 luminarias refused to be extinguished.
“It was a miracle,” Schilling said. “When we first started putting them out, we had some sack incineration issues. But at other Relay events, the saying is, ‘When bags catch fire, an angel is coming down,’ which is a nice way to look at it. With the wind, some of the candles kept going out and we’d have to get them set back up and re-lit. But even with all the downpours, at 9 a.m. (Sunday) some of them were still burning.”
The luminarias were lit at dusk Saturday.
Considering all of the weather difficulties, organizers discussed moving the date of next year’s event, and Schilling announced during the closing ceremonies that it could be moved to August.
“We had a real mixed response to August,” she said. “We’re going to talk about it. We’ve had two years with rain. But if not August, then possibly later in May. We haven’t decided yet, but as soon as a decision is made, we’ll let everyone know.”
The team from Fritter, Schultz & Conlan Physical and Occupational Therapy was the top business fundraiser for the second consecutive year, raising more than $10,000 with money still coming in.
Hollister’s Relay for Life event will be held Aug. 8-9 at San Benito High School’s Andy Hardin Field. In Gilroy, the event will be held June 21-22 at the Christmas Hill Ranch site.
A kick-off mixer for team captains for the Hollister event will be held today from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at Paine’s Restaurant, 421 East St. For more information, call Deanna Darling-Lyman at 637-9209 or 638-1101.
Organizers are still recruiting teams to participate. For details, go to www.cancer.org or call (800) ACS-2345.
