Saturday, June 15, 2013

Run for Boston 5k: Voluteering Recap

After over 10 years of running, I finally gave back and volunteered at a running event! Since I was a participant in the 2013 Boston Marathon, it made volunteering at this race even more meaningful. All the proceeds of the race go to the victims of the bombing.

I got up at 5:45am, and after walking my dog and making a thermos of coffee, I was on the road leaving the city and headed towards Libertyville, IL (which is about 15 miles from the Wisconsin border). Luckily traffic was über light at that time so it took me a mere 35 minutes to get that far north. I arrived at about 6:50 and made my way over to the start area. I helped move some picnic tables and also set up the pop-up tents. Then Gingerfoxxx, Matt, Anne and I started filling up the 312 beer coolers:
Setting Up the Beer
Then we headed over to the parking area to direct cars into lot B. Here are some action shots of Matt and Gingerfoxxx and their patented parking moves:
Directing Cars
Gingerfoxx's Move from the front
Matt's Parking Move
Then we headed over to the start line where I got a picture and a video:
Runners at the Start Line
Video of the race start:

Matt, Gingerfoxx and I then were assigned to the course to direct runners around the final turns of the course. As Matt encouraged a flock of geese to get off of the trail, I stationed myself a little higher up, at the top of the last hill. I yelled encouragement to runners like "you just conquered Heartbreak Hill!", but 90% of runners had their headphones on, so my attempt at humor was heard mostly by the trees. Two running bloggers Chris and Eric stopped by to say "hi" after they finished.
Chris, Eric, and Me
Sarah and Matt Directing Running Traffic
Sarah clapping to the head-phoned runners

Video of the finishers at about mile 3:


Then we made our way over to the finish area to enjoy a 312 with the rest of the group:

Another blogger summit
Gingerfoxx, Maggie and Anne
Hanging out
And finally a group blogger photo:
The gang's all here! (Source)
It was great seeing and meeting lots of new running bloggers. A good time was definitely had by all and I'm definitely looking forward to volunteering at a race again soon!

21 comments:

  1. You blog as fast as you run! Great job getting this done so quickly! Photos are great. The guy running with the arm sling is a trooper!

    Great job by the organizers! Nice to see so many bloggers in once place too!

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    1. Yeah, the guy with the arm sling got second place overall. Apparently the guy who was ahead of him faded near the finish line (cramps). Yes, it was well-organized and I think all the runners had a good time as well!

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  2. Awesome post Pete! It was nice to meet you & thanks for volunteering!

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  3. Thanks for being so good about taking pictures this morning, Pete! I may have to borrow a couple of these once I get around to recapping. I especially love the parking pose pictures, and that Sara wore safety orange just for the occasion!

    Today was my first time volunteering too! And I think had just as much fun volunteering as I would have running the race - maybe even more, given the fun group we had :)

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    1. Feel free to "borrow" any pictures you'd like. :) Agree, volunteering was just as fun than running the race.

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  4. Thanks again for making it out today! It was great to finally meet you. Thank you for all your hard work today!

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  5. Thanks for your support today!!!

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    1. Thanks for planning/throwing such a great event!

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  6. We finally met! Thanks for helping out today. It was such a great race, we even made mother nature cry!

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  7. That is great you were able to volunteer. I wish I had gotten there in person to run, but ran virtually in my neighborhood. Great pics, looked like a success.

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    1. Glad you were able to run the virtual event. Very cool.

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  8. Ah what a great way to give back to the running community. Looks like everyone had a good time. Great photos!

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  9. Looks like a fantastic event, and great pictures!!! It's amazing how much work goes into putting together a successful race, eh? I never realized it until I did my first-ever race volunteer stint last fall. It gives you a lot of perspective!!!

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    1. Yes. I usually would just show up and run, have some food/drink then split. I at least can now appreciated some of the hard work involved in throwing a race.

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  10. It was nice to meet you at the race! I really like volunteering at races and I need to do it more often! Plus staying late means there is usually extra beer at the end!

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  11. Love the pictures! I'm glad to many folks were able to volunteer on Saturday!!! And have fun while doing it. That really helped make things go smoothly.

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  12. Good on you for volunteering! Wish I could've been there. Lookds like a nice turnout.

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