Relay for Life Walker: "It's Just the Body Keeping Up"

nurse Brenda Brown carried a string of beads long enough that it dangled below her waist as she walked behind Yorkville High School about 3 a.m. Saturday.

Each bead represented a lap in the Relay for Life of Lower Fox Valley, which challenged participants to have at least one team member walking from 6 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday.

“I’ve just been at it because if I go sit down, I’ll fall asleep,” said Brown, of Plano.

The 300 or so participants from Yorkville, Plano and Sandwich raised about $72,000 for the American Cancer Society this year, said Jenna Hague, who works for the American Cancer Society in Batavia. The event had 33 teams and about 50 cancer survivors.

Brown’s team, Hillside Helping Hands, raised $4,188.24 with an event at the American Legion in Yorkville in April and promotions at work, such as employees making small donations in exchange for dressing down at work.

Their participation was tinged with personal experiences.

Brown had a cancer scare within the last year, although the tumor was benign. But she and the 16 coworkers on her team all had personal experiences with cancer or knew someone who had struggled with the disease.

“And my mom said all cancers are in my family,” Brown said.

By 3 a.m. Saturday, luminary bags honoring cancer patients and survivors marked the inner circle of the makeshift track in the high school’s rear parking lot, but several activities were more lighthearted. Younger kids bobbed for apples after a hula-hoop activity. Later, participants could grab a frozen, crumpled T-shirt and work at unraveling it as they walked.

A group of girls sang karaoke to Ke$ha (“Tonight we’re going hard, hard, hard…”) as Hillside Administrator Judy Koczo plodded along with a few coworkers.

Koczo, who had been diagnosed with cancer in July, had been touched by activities earlier in the event. Her close friend and family had attended the opening ceremony, which highlighted survivors, and a few hours later, a slideshow revealed photographs and names of cancer patients honored with luminaries.

Late into the night, though, the focus had shifted to putting one foot in front of the other.

“It’s just the body keeping up,” Koczo said.