Adams House Master Passes Olympic Flame in Calgary

There were five things Adams House Master Judith S. Palfrey '67 said she was told to remember before carrying the 2010 Olympic Flame across a 300-yard stretch in Calgary, Canada on Tuesday morning. The first three were simple: smile, smile, and smile.

"After that, we were told to be sure to really take in the moment and enjoy it," Palfrey said Tuesday in a phone interview. "Carrying the torch is something that you're doing for other people, and it's something that few others will ever have the opportunity to do."

Palfrey stood in a local elementary school awaiting further instructions with the men and women chosen to carry the torch on Day 82 of the relay, which will last for 106 days as the Olympic Flame makes its way across Canada to Vancouver for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in February. According to Palfrey, the torch is engraved with a maple leaf that must be turned towards the runner's heart during the relay.

Palfrey, a Harvard Medical School professor, was named one of 20 torchbearers chosen by the Coca-Cola Company for her work to improve the quality of healthcare for children as president of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The money raised during her run will go toward relief efforts in Haiti conducted by AAP affiliates, she said. Over the past few days, Palfrey said, her colleagues have been sending supplies and medical personnel to Haiti through the Dominican Republic.

At 10:10 a.m. on Tuesday, Palfrey took the Olympic Torch from Canadian athlete Chris Avelar and jogged 300 yards before hip-bumping and passing the flame to Speed Skating Canada's Hall of Fame inductee Debra Fisher four minutes later. Palfrey joins over 100 torchbearers transporting the torch through several cities in Alberta on Tuesday's leg of the relay.

"There really is something indescribable about seeing the flame in person," said Palfrey, who arrived in Calgary, the site of the 1988 Winter Games, Monday afternoon. "While I was carrying it, I kept looking up at it because it was amazing to be able to hold it in my hand."

Clad in white suiting, Palfrey, the fifty-sixth runner of the day, was cheered on by her husband, John G. "Sean" Palfrey '67, their daughter, Katy Palfrey, and friends as she jogged through the streets of Calgary. As she rounded the corner, she was surprised to see a crowd of schoolchildren greeting her enthusiastically.

"Someone must have told them my name, because as I turned the corner they kept shouting out, 'Judy! Judy!'" Palfrey said. "That was beautiful."

Palfrey returned to Cambridge Wednesday evening to continue Haitian relief efforts through AAP sister organizations.

—Staff writer Barbara B. DePena can be reached at barbara.b.depena@college.harvard.edu.