SEBASTIAN — They gathered under the stands of Shark Stadium at Sebastian River High School, improvising a track with unlit luminaria and re-hanging the familiar purple and white balloons. They had hoped the weather would clear out and the lightning would quit. Neither happened. And by 9:45 p.m., nearly four hours into what would have been a 16-hour event, the American Cancer Society Relay For Life of North Indian River was cut short.
The torrential downpour and sporadic lightning didn’t appear to affect the participants much. Many huddled together for warmth, but still they ate, shared stories and walked the makeshift loop beneath the stands.
“It brings a lot of joy to have the wonderful support,” said cancer survivor Connie Barney, who is battling Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Fighting back tears as she looked around at those who braved the weather to support Relay For Life, she added, “Sometimes you feel like you’re all alone and you’re not.”
This year’s Relay For Life of North Indian had the theme of “Super Heroes: How We Join Forces to Take Down Cancer.” Several of the teams took the theme to heart, dressing as super heroes.
None, though, took the theme as far as Treasure Coast Community Health, which won “Best Camp” for what it had prepared to display if not for the weather.
“We had the entire Gotham City,” said TCCH’s grant writer, Colette Heid, adding they also had the bat signal.
“It’s a big disappointment it got rained out,” Heid said. But, she added, they were still out to raise money and awareness for cancer treatment and research.
“If we have to be out in the storm, we will,” said TCCH Dental Coordinator Kim Platt.
If it had only been rain, the Relay would have been held out on the school’s track. Fear of lightning strikes was what kept the Relay under the stands.
Principal Daniel Gilbertson said the school was using its lightning system to determine when and if the event could be moved back out to the field.
“We’re doing the best we can,” he said of making due under the stands.
Along with the Relay, the American Cancer Society held sign-ups for its Cancer Prevention Study 3, hoping to enlist 159 adults who had not been diagnosed with cancer as part of a 20-year study.
By the time organizers deemed the event a wash, nearly 100 people had been signed up.
“We’re going to make the most of it,” said Theresa Woodson, community representative for Indian River County’s branch of the American Cancer Society.
She said it would be up to the national organization to determine whether enough people were signed up at Sebastian’s Relay or if they would try again at Relay For Life of Indian River at the Citrus Bowl at Vero Beach High School on May 4.
Though the overnight event was cut short, many of the activities planned were still held – albeit in a truncated fashion.
The evening started with the traditional Survivors Lap, then the Team Lap, followed by the Luminaria Ceremony. Organizers were able to eke out a few games, including a throwing contest, a scavenger hunt, and a crowing contest.
The Sebastian River Junior Woman’s Club won the scavenger hunt and Fellsmere Elementary won the crowing contest.
In all, about three-dozen teams registered to be a part of this year’s Relay For Life of North Indian. The teams raised more than $14,500, according to the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life website.