Marathon Volunteering.

A few weeks back, my sister and I volunteered to help with the Lakefront Marathon.  We’ve both run a few races so we decided it was our turn to pay it forward and be on the other end of the spectrum – the race volunteers!  We both got stationed as sentries around mile 14.5.  Being a sentry pretty much meant standing there to collect things the runners wanted to hand off and to stop the maniac car drivers in their BMWs, Land Rovers, and Lexus’s from running the poor runners over  I wasn’t sure how much “fun” this would actually be since that is not why we signed up to help but it really did end up being fun and I would love to volunteer for this or some other race sometime soon!

While helping with this race, I came to a few revelations about running a marathon that I hope will help me feel inspired to someday train for and run one!  Now keep in mind the people we saw had completed more them a half marathon but were no where near the finish…

1. The guy who will eventually go on to win, is working hard.  Like REALLY hard… like so hard he won’t even take the time to wipe the tears from his face from the cold.  Not sure why but for some reason, I imagined the leaders to be looking like it was no big deal but let me reassure you, yes it is!  But on another note, this dude finished in 2:22!  Now recall my finish time for the Summerfest half… (if you don’t click the link, it was 2:24…)
2. It never fails that a car will show up to try and cross the route at the exact minute a herd of runners appears… and more than one of them will act irate even though they know full well this is going on and it has been for the last I don’t even know how many years…
3. The people in the pace groups are having more fun.  For some reason these people seemed a lot more calm and relaxed and just going with the flow.  I am sure not worrying about pace but just following a leader helps as well as being able to feel like you have a bit of support.  I think I am going to pick a pace group to run with for the Haunted Hustle.  It will probably be a group slower than my PR but I think it might be good for me to learn the art of pacing and this a good way to give it a try!
4. Mardi gras bead necklaces are not a good handout before the race.  But now the sister and I are set for any Mardi Grad parties we might ever be invited to…
5. Running apparently means manners no longer apply… (not sure I ever heard so much spitting, burping or farting from a group of adults )
6. Even though the runners are sweaty beasts, it’s hard not to shiver as a volunteer when standing in the cool October morning air.  I was told more than once to “stay warm”!  Isn’t it my job to cheer them on, not the other way around??  oops!
7. There is not a classic “marathoner” body/runner type… I so could try it someday…
8. The last runner gets an awful lot o f personal interaction and cheering on from the volunteers!!
9. 26.2 miles is really far… but I really want to be a marathoner some day… some day…
10. It takes a REALLY long time for 62 runners tied together with a string to run a marathon… like 6+ hours… but they raised a crazy ton of money in the process!!  And set a world record!  Awesome

Serious craziness!

So all in all, I can’t wait for another race to volunteer for.  The races really could not happen without the volunteers so I really wish I had taken the time and energy on the course to thank more volunteers at my races.  And as the PSA for the day – go find a race to volunteer to help at!  You won’t be disappointed and might just learn a few things along the way

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