Relay for Life: Relay yes, Life certainly.

This past Friday and Saturday Boulder hosted the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.  I was honored to be one of over 140 participants at this amazing event, held at the University of Colorado's Potts Field (track).  From the cessation of rain just as we arrived to set up our site, to the closing ceremonies where it was announced that over $24,000 was raised this was a truly memorable experience.

Just a few of the highlights:

* hearing about promising research,
* experiencing the survivors' and team lap,
* running to the beat of the band under dancing rainbows,

* sharing the luminaria ceremony with friends,
* strolling around the track with my son Paul as Friday turned to Saturday,
* running the midnight 5k, my first midnight race ever (note to self: never again eat an apple fritter minutes before running a 5k!),
* walking hand-in-hand with husband Kendall under the light of the morning star shining ever so brightly in the night sky,
* running my Saturday morning workout with friends who appeared at Relay just at dawnbreak



All of this happily done with the company of 21 Relay teams joined in the battle to beat cancer, the disease that never sleeps.

Relay by the numbers:

• 21 teams, 142 participants
• $27921.65 raised (updated 7/29/2014)
• Top team fundraiser: Boulder Balvihar, $2,773.36 (updated 7/29/2014)
• Top individual fundraiser: me! $1,440 (updated 7/29/2014)
• Relay hours: 6 p.m. - 6 a.m., but there were breaks from circling the track for opening ceremonies and survivor ceremony (~1 hour), and for the luminaria lighting ceremony and reading of names (another ~1 hour), plus a couple hours that I spent napping after the midnight 5k and 1 a.m. pizza.
• My midnight 5k time: 29:52
• Most laps reported by an individual: 100
• My total number of laps: 84 (21 miles)

4th of July

If I were to have to choose a day when I most miss living in Petoskey, it would be the 4th of July.  I am a sucker for parades, marching bands, open air concerts, festivities at the waterfront - all done with small town enthusiasm.  And the Great Lake. And the beach.  And the million dollar sunset that needs no fireworks to evoke the oohs and ahhhs.  But then there are the fireworks shot off over the bay - both Petoskey's and Harbor Springs'.  Yep, Petoskey - and all of the surrounding towns - does the 4th of July up right.


But if not in Petoskey nestled in the Great Lakes North Woods, but in Boulder nestled up against the Rockies, well, what's a runner gal missing her hometown to do but run the trails and revel in the Colorado blue sky, wildflowers, flatirons, hawks and butterflies.
 

 


Of course, being the 4th of July, it must be cherry picking cherry pie time.  You can take the girl out of northern Michigan but you can't take the northern Michigan cherries out of the girl!