On the weekend of 17 and 18 March 2012, a team of Bilbys, their family and friends, participated in the Relay for Life to raise money for the ACT Cancer Council.

The Relay for Life is an event where team members take turns walking or running around the track (in our case the AIS track in Bruce) over a period of 24 hours. Bilbys has proudly supported this event in recent years and in 2012 we raised over $1300.00

Our trusty Bilbys tent was set up by Rhys and Adam in its usual spot opposite the grandstand (and opposite the hot potato stall!) and it provided us not only with shade from the sun, but some much needed shelter from the pouring rain on Saturday night!

At midday on the Saturday the event kicked off with our first runner Mel ticking around the track for a two hour training run proudly displaying our team baton – a race belt with a Bilbys logo attached. Although our Bilbys ‘number plate’ was a little worse for wear at the end of the weekend, it proved to be practical option, particularly for those doing long shifts.

Bronwyn and Amy took to the track for Saturday afternoon, followed by Rhys. At around 8.30pm the rain started to pour down as Pete was part way through his run, and it was so heavy and constant that the candle ceremony had to be postponed until Sunday morning. At 10pm Jess reluctantly left the shelter of the tent to run in the rain, and then handed over to Pam who savoured the last moments of her recently straightened hair before also going for a wet run.

The rain cleared up at around 1am, just in time for Shane’s epic graveyard shift lasting until around 6am (part of his marathon training). Adam, who provided moral support to the team throughout the 24 hours, did his official shift on Sunday morning, followed by Julia and Warrick.

There were a large number of teams participating in the event, and some fantastic costumes and themed tents. Our favourites included the Lord of the Rings themed team and the Team for Snowy River baton which was a cloth horse which people clipped onto their clothes. We were also suitably impressed with the members of the army team who carried their packs as they ran and walked.

Everyone in our team had a great time, and we are keen to be involved again next year, with a few more people staying throughout the night.

Thank you to everyone who supported our team!