Despite rain and storms that cut this year’s Freeborn County Relay for Life short about halfway through, area residents raised just under $134,000 to go toward the fight against cancer.

At the Freeborn County Fairgrounds track early Saturday morning, only a few of the almost 5,400 luminaries were still lit around the track and in the grandstand. The luminaries were supposed to remain lit until 6 a.m. Saturday, but raindrops put out most of the candles in the bags.

Relay organizers called off the event around 11:30 p.m. Friday after lightning and signs of storms in the area.

Relay Co-chairman Andy Johnson said organizers did so for the safety of everyone in attendance.

Rain began at 12:30 a.m., Johnson said, after which 99 percent of participants left.

There were a few dedicated groups, however, who had not stepped a foot off the path by 3:30 a.m.

“It’s unfortunate the way it was,” Johnson said. “You hate to cancel it short because it’s an event you work on all year.”

The turnout before the weather problems was great, however, with a record number of people in attendance and survivors beginning the event during the survivors walk.

Sixty teams had registered — which is the highest number Freeborn County has ever had. Last year there were 48.

Honorary Co-chairwoman Amy Wasson, Co-chairman Chris Utz and Honorary Caregiver Beth Manges shared their stories of how cancer affected their lives and thanked those who helped them get through it.

Albert Lea Tribune Publisher Scott Schmeltzer’s head was shaved because more than 50 teams signed up for the relay, and Perry Vining, with the Big Island Rendezvous, announced he was going to have his hair cut for the first time in 27 years and donate his hair to Locks of Love.

“Everyone in this town has been affected in some way,” Wasson said. “Let hope fill you and keep hope alive through Relay for Life.”

That hope was lit during the luminary ceremony, starting with the lighting of the Flame of Hope just after 9 p.m.

One by one the luminaries were lit, honoring fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, friends and other loved ones who have fought cancer.

The words “hope” were spelled out in luminaries on the grandstand.

The luminaries shined as people continued walking into the night.

One man who continued walking despite the rain was Chris Brown.

Walking around the track at the fairgrounds at 3 a.m. — when almost everyone else had packed up for the night because of the rain — Brown continued his quest against cancer. As he walked with a handful of other people around the track he did so as a beacon of hope, echoing the relay’s theme.

It wasn’t clear at first why he continued on with so much conviction, but then after talking to him, that became clear.

Brown’s fiancee, Jolene Skroch, died of breast cancer in January, and he is preparing for the 60-mile Breast Cancer 3-Day, benefiting Susan G. Komen for the Cure, in the Twin Cities in September.

Brown said Skroch’s breast cancer came back for a second time in February of 2007. After going through another round of chemotherapy and radiation for the cancer, on Oct. 7, 2007, she had to be brought into the emergency room. She lost consciousness, and after conducting a brain scan, doctors found 50 to 60 cancerous spots on her brain.

“They thought we were going to lose her that night,” Brown said.

Skroch went through brain radiation for seven days, but then later doctors found the cancer had spread again.

“I watched her go through so much pain,” Brown said. “There’s no way I could really imagine how hard it was for her.”

Organizers said Brown had not stopped walking since the relay began at 6 p.m.

The shirts he and his family and friends wore had “I wear pink for Jolene” written on the backs.

Others showed their determination to fight against cancer by raising money for the American Cancer Society.

The official counting deadline is at the end of August.

Look to the Tribune for more information about which individuals and teams raised the most money.