Relay

I participated in the 2010 Relay for Life of Tioga County last night. I walked a total of 10 miles which was less than I thought I would be able to walk but still not a disappointing number. It was the first Relay for Life I had participated in and I am quite sure I will do it again. I think my biggest problems were wearing my new sneakers instead of my walking sneakers and starting prep and set up at 11 am which included loading 50 cases of water in and out of my jeep, putting up our tent(s), getting food around, etc.

Starting the major prep work at 11 am not really a big deal that was actually a blessing or I never would have made it as long as I did. Loading 50 cases (24 packs) of water did take its toll but I think the worst part was the tent(s). I put the s in () for a reason. We had one booth location with a tent but the tent Pat brought had 3 broken legs which she was unaware of so we had Kelsey go back to the store and get the other tents we had left there. She came back and we started setting up the second tent only to find it also had a broken leg. McGivers we were and took the good leg off of the one tent and put it on the second tent. Yay we have one working, standing tent. We get everything all set up for our booth. No more problems we are ready to go.

About 30-45 minutes later we get this crazy thunderstorm come through with lightning hitting very close to the relay site. The coordinator says everyone inside. We start walking toward the building and hear a crash behind us. The rain had come down so hard and fast the tent couldn't shed the water fast enough and collapsed under the weight. I mean snapped frame and all. GRRR...!! So here Pat and I are holding the tent up trying to keep everything from becoming completely ruined from all the water and this relay committee lady informs us she can't go in if we are still outside. We politely tell her were are not going inside with our tent collapsed on everything so she just leaves, no offer to get help, nothing. I think 2 seconds later the storm passes anyways so poo on her.

So now we have gone through 2 tents, everyone and thing is soaked and we are frustrated and getting fed up. Kelsey gets the 3rd tent from her car, we pull it out and realize it's only 5'x5'. It wasn't even large enough to cover the (2) 6' tables we had. Well it's all we had so we set up the best we can and it looks pretty pitiful but oh well. Around 6 pm we call one of the other girls that was coming down after work to see if she can find a larger tent, another cooler and bring some more ice. Thankfully she comes with a 12'x12' tent, cooler and ice. We all move the itty bitty tent out of the way to set up the one she brought and finally all is well again.

So 8 hours later after all the loading, unloading, putting up and taking downs I was a little tired and finally able to start walking for the relay. Although I was tired I still had a great time and hopefully next time the prep/set up won't be so tiring before walking.

The next walk i am aware of is the breast cancer walk in Binghamton in October and I think I will participating in that as well. I just need to talk with Pat and see what she is doing for it and how I can help.