I'd like to write a post appreciating the volunteers that show up at every race. I feel like they are wildly unappreciated and unrecognized.
I spent my Thanksgiving morning volunteering at the Music City Thanksgiving 4/8 Miler put on by What Do You Run For Event Management. Full disclosure: they were offering a free race entry to a future race to anyone who volunteered. It was not just my good-will that got me out there in the cold. However, I found that it was very fun and rewarding!
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| Pretty good water table if I do say so myself |
We were the only water stop and the 8 milers looped past us twice. It was very fun to cheer the runners on and to encourage those that were struggling. It was great when we were the lifeline to a runner, because I know how that feels.
On the other hand, I found out how it feels to be the "non-runner". There were several runners (not many) who were downright rude. I'm not noticing this to get pity, but to change my own behaviors. For instance, a breathless "thank you" goes a long way. We had to get up early and stand in the blowing cold for three hours just to give them water. Now I understand that runners are tired, but so was I!
Thank you to everyone who ran the race, it was an awesome experience for me! I would love to volunteer for more races (not even for free race entries). Thank you to all the race volunteers that I have not appreciated nearly enough. I would like to challenge all you running bloggers to try volunteering for a race. I promise it will be rewarding and eye-opening.
I'll post about the rest of Thanksgiving later today :)
Thank you for volunteering! I still need to this year! I try to thank volunteers when I still have the energy in me, or at least, smile! They work so hard, and you are right - they are WAY under appreciated.
ReplyDeleteSuper cool you got a free entry out of it! :)