Relay nets $100,000 for research

Marisa O’Neil

Most walked, others jogged, and a few even rowed, but all had their

own reasons for taking part in this year’s 24-hour Relay for Life.

The annual nationwide event raises funds for cancer research and

gives survivors, friends and family a chance to remember those lost

to the disease. Roughly 800 people from 45 teams took part at the

Newport Harbor High School track, raising more than $100,000.

Some, such as retired state Sen. Marian Bergeson, are cancer

survivors. Bergeson was diagnosed with breast cancer more than 10

years ago and became an advocate for women getting mammograms.

Others, such as Laura Flores, were walking to honor friends and

family lost to cancer.

“I love the spirit of it,” Flores said of the relay. “And on a

personal level, being able to do something for the cause. It’s a

good, feel-good experience.”

The Relay for Life raises money through corporate sponsors and

participants who solicit donations for the walk.

Members of each team took shifts between 6 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m.

Saturday to ensure someone was on the track at all times.

Participants lighted luminarias around the track at dusk Friday.

Each was dedicated to someone who fought or is fighting cancer.

That sight helped inspire the night shifts to keep walking, said

co-chair Stacy DeBoom, who napped for only about a half-hour during

the event.

“You run on adrenaline because it’s so beautiful,” she said. “You

walk around and see the luminarias for people who are being

supported, and you know why you’re here.”

But the event also had its lighter moments.

A volleyball net provided an extra opportunity to burn off what

energy remained. Members of the Newport Beach Firefighters Assn.

cooked pancakes for breakfast and burritos for lunch.

Olympic rower Xeno Muller’s indoor rowing gym, the Iron Oarsman,

put its own spin on the relay. Gym employees and members took

30-minute shifts on rowing machines placed on the infield.

And a team called the Broad Squad walked in pink bowling shirts

and 1950s-style regalia. Cookie Koudelka, team captain Wendy

Koudelka’s mother, wore a red poodle skirt and cat’s-eye glasses for

her laps.

Inside the team’s tent on Saturday, Wendy Koudelka took a short

breather before heading back out on the track. She hadn’t slept at

all and didn’t plan to.

“If you go down, you never get up,” she warned.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4618 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil@l atimes.com.