Making History of Cancer

It's been a long time since I stayed up all night. Yes, I've had my fair share of late nights playing with friends or out in DC, but I think the last time I was up all night was probably in high school.

So when I was invited to participate in the Relay for Life at Elizabethtown College, I was a tad hesitant. When I understood that the event is to raise awareness and funds for cancer research, however, I signed right up.

Here's the play-by-play:

2:00 PM: Arrival in Elizabethtown, PA; hanging out with friends; catching up on all the life happenings.

4:30 PM: Setting up for the Relay for Life

6:00 PM: The Relay starts with a welcoming speech by Rachel and Jackie; survivor lap; caregiver lap

6:30 PM: Marcia's Marchers (our team) gets started and I realize we have an amazing and hilarious group, so this night's gonna be awesome

7:15 PM: Activities get started; Kate, Jen, and Jess win close soccer game #1 against the athletics department giants

8:15 PM: Local bands keep things lively by rocking covers and originals; theme laps are in process and about this time was the 80's lap; visit the food area and our friends that are selling tea and other goodies; another soccer game, which the ladies won

9:00 PM: Glowstick ceremony; lap of silence -- both very emotional

10:00 PM: More activities, including beach ball pong, the red/white/blue laps, team photos (almost the whole team), and another visit to the fundraising food table area

12:00 midnight: Let them eat cake! The sugar rush is appreciated by all at the halfway point; badminton game for our team doesn't turn out so well, but fun to watch

12:30 AM: Four-square domination by Jen and me. We reached the finals, despite the drunk dude who was trying to cheat

2:10 AM: Three-legged race ends in hilarity and battle wounds which would last for weeks; cowboy theme lap brings out some great costumes

3:00 AM: Kate and Laura have speaking part and do great job; DJ plays YMCA during a lap and we all have a great time; DJ follows that up with awesome hip hop series of songs and we all get our groove on; we battle in the tug-o-war, make it to the finals, but all we end up with are dislocated pinkies and severe rope burns

4:00 AM: Macarena gets played and I'm ashamed to admit that I joined in. In my defense, it was 4:00 AM and I wasn't thinking clearly haha; team lap where we carry our Marcia's Marchers banner; a little down-by-the-banks playing by our team, and Dan does surprisingly well; more good dance tunes as we walk, resulting in embarassing pictures of all

5:15 AM: Rachel and Jackie get interviewed by E-TV crew for a feature; Relay committee celebrates a successful Relay for Life with a big dance party in the middle of the gym

5:40 AM: Presentation to announce grand total of fund-raising from 2009 E-town Relay for Life; crowd erupts into cheers and excitement when the total of $87,019.06 is revealed --that's $12k above the goal!

6:00 AM: Finish up Relay and take down the decorations as quickly as possible; sleep deprivation apparent as we all stagger around and carry boxes like zombies

7:00 AM: Done cleaning up; we all make our way to the apartments to sleep, just as the sun is coming up; thank heavens for blinds