Sitting in a team tent next to a flickering tea light candle left over from the luminary ceremony, I watched a small, but inspiring segment of the world go by.
In the wee hours of the morning at the Relay for Life, there are no spectators in the stands and no entertainment in the middle of the track aside from an energetic DJ.
But that doesn't make a difference to the group of people circling the track at Masich Place Stadium.
The remarkable thing about the Canadian Cancer Society's largest fundraising event is that everyone involved has a story or 12 to relate about why they're participating in the 24-hour event. And that's what keeps them moving long after the sun has gone down and the day's summer-like heat has dissipated to the point where you can see your breath as you exhale.
Participating in my first Relay for Life, I donned my favourite fleece onsie and gloves and joined fellow relayers between the hours of midnight and 3 a.m., who were wearing everything from pajamas to suits to shorts and T-shirts to toques and jackets.
The crowd had thinned out considerably following the midnight luminary ceremony, an emotional half hour where the lights were turned out and the track was lit only by candlelight. Small groups gathered by their dedicated luminary bags lining the track, to take a moment and hold each other, cry and remember their lost loved ones.
And although I attempted to distract myself with conversation and observation of others, it was only natural my mind would eventually wander to the memories of those I've known who are no longer of this earth having lost their cancer fight.
As I held a candle cradled in a plastic cup, I prayed the light wouldn't be extinguished like that of my cousin Jeff, whose death was swift and - to me - unexpected in the fall of 2010 and whose loss I still feel deeply.
As the sky was lit up by fireworks, I thought of 20-year-old Valrie Goneau, an Ottawa resident who I had the good fortune to meet and write about a mere few weeks after her diagnosis with a rare-at-her-age bone cancer. That explosive personality left a lasting mark on her community and was in the midst of starting something huge when she suddenly succumbed to the disease last summer.
But once the stadium lights were turned back on, it was a jovial atmosphere. The DJs were taking requests, young people not huddled in sleeping bags were kicking a ball around and couples were two-stepping when an appropriate song came over the PA system.
While some relayers whizzed by me on the track in a jog or full-on sprint, others, like the Bolin sisters, moved at a far more sedate pace.
The two were among the approximately eight people making the rounds for the full duration of the day-long event. As part of Team Duck, they walked in memory of family friend Dave "Duck" Price, who passed away in 2008.
Having made the decision to not sit down for the whole day and stopping only for bathroom breaks and to change their shoes, Megan and Sara Bolin were just shy of 140 laps as the clock neared 3 a.m.
"I'm pretty sore, not gonna lie," said Megan, who was also sporting a heating pad under her shirt. "Very sore, but it's worth it."
This was Sara's second time doing the 24-hour stint, having completed it in 2010, and Megan's first crack at it. Though they've both moved away from Prince George - Megan to Grande Prairie and Sara to Fort McMurray - the sisters return in March and May for a team fundraiser and the relay every year.
"It's physically, mentally and emotionally draining all in one," said Sara, but the two - along with fellow teammate and 24-hour walker Lisa Montpellier - kept their spirits up with spontaneous dance parties and the memory of the man they described as being like a brother to them.
"One of his things was 'don't forget me.' And that hits hard. You don't want to think that someone's worried that after they're gone they're going to be forgotten," Sara said. "So we don't. Even though this is just a weekend, Dave is with us every day of every year."
In its 20th anniversary year, the Prince George Relay for Life has already raised $420,000 with more donations still to be counted.
Corporately, the AllNorth Allstars raised the most, with more than $27,000 while the Deere's Dough$ 4 Buck$ raised more than $10,000.
Thirteen-year-old Ashley Clarke was the youngest top fundraiser with more than $3,000 and the top individual fundraiser was Sarah O'Donnell with just under $6,000 as part of Team Canadian Tire.
"This community should be very proud," said relay team lead Helen Owen.
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