Cherry Blossom 10 Miler Volunteer Recap

This year I have made a commitment to giving back to the running community. I have done some volunteering at smaller local races, but this year I signed up to volunteer in two bigger races. The first was the Rock and Roll Marathon/Half Marathon in DC when I worked the Blue Mile. The second opportunity was this past Sunday at the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler.

Honestly, I was stressing about this shift for the last two weeks. When I signed up to help, my schedule was completely clear. The closer we got to the event, the more commitments were added to my schedule. This caused me to flip out a little because my schedule is carefully crafted to allow me to cover all the various aspects of my life. I try very hard to juggle the kids events, working my full time and part time job, get my run training in, complete strength training at the gym, perform household chores, and shop for groceries so I don't have to eat out every meal. Just typing that sentence made me tired. :) Going into race week I was panicking because I knew that after the volunteer shift I would be useless and tired. So everything that needed to be done this weekend would have to be done on Friday night or Saturday. But mother nature had other plans. The weather forecast shifted to a cold and potentially snowy weekend. And as Thursday approached, the commitments fell off the calendar. So completing this shift without stress started to become a reality.

On race morning, I was met with at 3:45 AM wake up. I NEVER get up that early! I don't even like to wake up before 4:50 AM on a weekday morning to get a run in before work. Fortunately I had gathered my attire for race morning the night before. So I stumbled around the dark, quiet house and got dressed in allllll the layers for the cold morning ahead. One of my BRFs was meeting me at a local community center so that we could carpool together, departing for DC at roughly 4:30 AM. I have since apologized to her for my less than sunshiny disposition on that early Sunday morning before I had access to caffeine. I am so so grateful that she knows me well enough to know that this is not my normal demeanor. We arrived at the water stop we would be working sometime before 5:30 AM and waited for directions from the leadership who was coordinating our efforts.

Fortunately for me, the supply truck with our needed materials was running late so there was time to partake in a a cup of coffee before work began. Once caffeinated and tasks in front of me, I felt like a different person! There was definitely adequate time to unload the supplies, set up the tables, and then get to pre-filling water cups for the thousands of runners who would run by us at rough mile 7.5. Three of us were assigned to my table (my BRF, a new friend from another MRTT chapter, and me) and we rocked our job. I have NO idea how many cups we filled before we even saw our first runner that morning, so I will just let the picture speak for itself!

Big races like the Cherry Blossom have waved starts that begin with elite runners who are going to compete with one another for prize money. These folks are barely on the course for an hour and do not partake of the water stops (generally speaking). But a really nice perk of working a water stop is that you get an up close view of these amazing athletes as they streak by. You hold out that cup in case they want it, but mainly just stand there in awe of the performance. Case in point, Meb Keflezighi, of NYC Marathon, Boston Marathon, and Olympic fame, ran right by me as he paced a group of runners. After the elites come the rest of the masses. As the waves of runners come through, the number of athletes needing hydration increases. And for the next several hours, we held water cups carefully balanced on the palms of our hands, filled more cups, and tried to sweep away trashed cups from the ground to keep runners from slipping and falling. It is tough work. But, OMG, did I love it. There is something so intensely satisfying about making eye contact with a runner you know needs that sip of water, and being able to help them through that phase of the race. Or to see someone struggling in general, or absolutely killing it, and calling their name out from their bib to give them some personal encouragement. Seeing people's faces light up when they hear their name and see a little pep in their step. The feeling is awesome.

I was more tired after hours of working a water stop than I would have been had I actually run that race, but the exhaustion was definitely worth it. While I do not know if I will return to DC to work another big race (the logistics are particularly rough with the distance and early morning road closures), volunteering at races is definitely going to happen again! If you have the chance, or can make the chance, I highly recommend doing it. The running community is amazing and you see a whole different view of it when you are standing on the sidelines supporting people.