Fighting cancer in broad daylight

Participants in the 2010 Northfield Relay for Life found themselves walking around Manitou Field at a different time than usual this year. Saturday's event, a team walk benefiting the American Cancer Society, occurred between noon and midnight instead of last year's 7 p.m to 7 a.m.

The Northfield Relay for Life committee decided last spring by a majority vote to change the time of the event, according to Kristen Latta '12, Relay's fundraising chairwoman and website coordinator, said. The committee hoped the time change would allow more people to stay through the event, Latta said.
"Last year we started with 800 participants and ended with only 32," Latta said.

This year, attendance was highest at the end of the event, and stayed fairly steady at around 650 to 700 participants. Latta attributed this change in participation to the new time. "I think it helped with people staying all the way through," she said.

"I think the change was good because it seemed that more people stayed for the closing ceremony this year than in past years," Hannah Sinnwell ‘10 said, a Relay participant for the last four years.

The committee also made the decision to change times with the hope that the greater Northfield community would be more able to participate in Relay, Latta said. She believes the community views this relay as a St. Olaf event and not a Northfield event. This year's event did not see a large increase in the number of community members participating, but Latta hopes the time change will help bring more community members in the future.

"I think it will be a gradual process getting the community involved," she said.

Latta maintains the committee did not consider the issue of alcohol when changing the time of the event, as it is rare for participants to be intoxicated when they arrive, even when the event starts in the evening.

Latta said she did not hear any complaints at the event about the new time. She did admit that there were some downsides. The setup crew had less time to prepare for the event in the morning. There were also more conflicts with other events than usual, such as retreats for many study abroad programs, the Philharmonia spring concert and a psychology conference.   

Some participants encountered conflicts, particularly during the early part of the relay.

"The time change definitely made it harder to be there for the whole event because I have track meets on Saturday,"  Sinnwell said.

The event also conflicted with the Saturday evening Doomtree concert. The Relay committee scheduled the event before they knew about the concert, Latta said. She was unsure whether the Relay or the concert was scheduled first, but she said the Relay committee scheduled the event too far in advance to avoid conflicts.

KSTO organized a raffle drawing at the Doomtree concert, raising $159 to donate to Relay for Life.

Despite a few drawbacks, Latta said Relay will probably find a home in this new time slot.

"This is definitely an improvement for the better, especially if we want the Northfield community to step up," she said.

The new time also made it more practical for the event to be outside, Latta said, although she also said the decision whether to move the event indoors is never easy.

"The weather was a close call as always," she said. "We had to wait till the last minute to call it, mostly because of the wind."

Sinnwell said she was glad the event was outdoors, and she thinks holding the event earlier in the day helped make that possible.

"I think the most powerful moment is the luminaria ceremony followed by the silent lap, which gives people time to reflect and remember those that have fought and are still fighting the battle with cancer," Sinnwell said. "Relay was a ton of fun, and I know for some people the time change made it harder to get to the event, but overall it was successful."

Despite some scheduling conflicts, this year's Relay was a smashing success. The event has raised over $47,000 to date, and more money will continue to flow in after the event. The 2010 Relay for Life also raised more money by the day of the event than last year's Relay.

salmon@stolaf.edu