tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081872231855122210.post8342773660599273556..comments2024-03-19T02:13:10.045-05:00Comments on Out and About: Volunteering at the ITU World Triathlonemmers712http://www.blogger.com/profile/15865493476823978890noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081872231855122210.post-23631308524755268302015-09-30T17:06:14.978-05:002015-09-30T17:06:14.978-05:00Zenaida, it was awful. It was night and day compar...Zenaida, it was awful. It was night and day compared to the Fleet Feet event. =(emmers712https://www.blogger.com/profile/15865493476823978890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081872231855122210.post-58055903200961722382015-09-28T20:45:11.286-05:002015-09-28T20:45:11.286-05:00What a horrible experience! It was exciting to he...What a horrible experience! It was exciting to hear about it at the Fleet Feet fun run. Zenaida Arroyohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18137949290555784656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081872231855122210.post-48570370811766560972015-09-22T14:14:16.516-05:002015-09-22T14:14:16.516-05:00Appreciate the sympathy, Pete! Likewise, I won'...Appreciate the sympathy, Pete! Likewise, I won't be doing ITU next year, or any year, really. I won't be volunteering and never mind that I can't qualify, either. The point is that I won't be there. ;-) I'm so glad to have your solidarity in NOT being there next year!!! =Demmers712https://www.blogger.com/profile/15865493476823978890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081872231855122210.post-78027067157427256452015-09-22T11:13:38.048-05:002015-09-22T11:13:38.048-05:00Sorry to hear about your yucky experience. They sh...Sorry to hear about your yucky experience. They should have sent you an email and the volunteers should not have been putting their hands in the Gatorade. Yuck! I won't be doing that race next year. Then again, I wasn't planning on it, nor could I likely qualify! :)Pete Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09655789227670205830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081872231855122210.post-38212396634020878232015-09-22T09:33:49.341-05:002015-09-22T09:33:49.341-05:00Thanks for the sympathy! Oh my goodness, I've ...Thanks for the sympathy! Oh my goodness, I've heard so much bad publicity about Team Ortho. So awful to hear about their lack of organization, too. I've heard horror stories from the athletes at Team Ortho events, so I can only imagine how bad it must have been for them on a volunteer standpoint. The overpromise, under deliver mentality was awful. I would have been better off if they just told me upfront that I'm not going to get anything for volunteering other than some athlete appreciation, you know? emmers712https://www.blogger.com/profile/15865493476823978890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081872231855122210.post-3502100269603459612015-09-22T09:31:06.983-05:002015-09-22T09:31:06.983-05:00I am going to start expecting volunteering to be u...I am going to start expecting volunteering to be unorganized and frustrating, too! When I volunteered at ZOOMA Great Lakes, which was also a bad experience, I was less irritated because they are a much smaller organization and operate on a much less prominent scale. But for ITU to operate this poorly was truly horrifying. I am hopeful but not optimistic I'll hear back from them. They've already demonstrated communication is not their strong suit, so why would they waste time responding to my complaints, right? Ah well. Lesson learned for future volunteering expectations, for sure!emmers712https://www.blogger.com/profile/15865493476823978890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081872231855122210.post-77150099370170219712015-09-22T09:30:46.823-05:002015-09-22T09:30:46.823-05:00What a mess! As a volunteer or runner, there'...What a mess! As a volunteer or runner, there's nothing worse than a race that's poorly organized. Not to mention the over promise, under deliver mentality. Sounds a lot like another local race org I've grown to hate - Team Ortho. BLECH!<br /><br />Hopefully you find a better volunteer opportunity in the future. :-(Shinianenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15340969239524875329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081872231855122210.post-78972347880645520162015-09-22T09:28:25.796-05:002015-09-22T09:28:25.796-05:00Thanks Elle! I'm like you - I've only volu...Thanks Elle! I'm like you - I've only volunteered at races a couple of times, and always want to do more. Great idea to start with something small to get experience. It can be painful to get thrown into things as a volunteer, for sure. I am hopeful but not optimistic to hear back from ITU because I think this is a one-time event in Chicago. But you are so right - based on this experience, they'd be hard pressed to get anyone to volunteer in the future!emmers712https://www.blogger.com/profile/15865493476823978890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081872231855122210.post-27758291699207321532015-09-22T09:26:25.783-05:002015-09-22T09:26:25.783-05:00Much appreciate the sympathy! I've heard great...Much appreciate the sympathy! I've heard great things about volunteering at Disney races! If I lived closer to Disney, I would really enjoy working a runDisney race. So wonderful to hear they gave you nice jackets and breakfast! I bet it was so much fun to be part of the Disney race experience from behind the scenes. =)emmers712https://www.blogger.com/profile/15865493476823978890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081872231855122210.post-1957207811342621042015-09-22T09:24:52.305-05:002015-09-22T09:24:52.305-05:00Thanks for understanding, Stephanie! Volunteering ...Thanks for understanding, Stephanie! Volunteering can be so rewarding! But at the same time it really does depend on good organization. I'm with you - each time I've volunteered at a race, it makes me really understand how much preparation and effort goes into even the littlest details!emmers712https://www.blogger.com/profile/15865493476823978890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081872231855122210.post-44542078727512527322015-09-22T09:23:12.579-05:002015-09-22T09:23:12.579-05:00Appreciate the sympathy, Lauren! Thanks for sharin...Appreciate the sympathy, Lauren! Thanks for sharing the details about the communication on the athlete/spectator side. That is really disappointing, but not surprising, to hear they ran out of timing chips and didn't communicate the expo closing to the athletes earlier, either. I can certainly imagine that ITU was an anomaly - if all triathlons were like those, nobody would do them! I'm glad you shared your experience volunteering at Ironman - what a relief!emmers712https://www.blogger.com/profile/15865493476823978890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081872231855122210.post-42071019886532499042015-09-22T09:22:01.497-05:002015-09-22T09:22:01.497-05:00I always expect volunteering experiences to be uno...I always expect volunteering experiences to be unorganized and frustrating, but this takes the cake. I can't imagine having an event as complicated as a tri (although, really, all events are pretty complicated) and being this unorganized. I wonder if you'll ever hear back from them. What a bummer. kilaxhttp://www.ilaxstudio.com/blog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081872231855122210.post-71021627425342544702015-09-22T09:20:16.508-05:002015-09-22T09:20:16.508-05:00Appreciate the sympathy, Alexandra! It is indeed v...Appreciate the sympathy, Alexandra! It is indeed very frustrating to offer your time and then have a bad experience. Volunteering can really bit hit or miss that way, yes? Sorry to hear you've gone through similar bad experiences, and likewise - I hope your future volunteer efforts go better, too!emmers712https://www.blogger.com/profile/15865493476823978890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081872231855122210.post-26823129505458913922015-09-22T09:19:29.214-05:002015-09-22T09:19:29.214-05:00HoHo - thanks for co-hosting the link-up, I love t...HoHo - thanks for co-hosting the link-up, I love the topic! Agreed, the volunteer coordinators were clearly in over their heads. It's a shame that folks sign up to volunteer, but then show up and don't do anything. But hey - what can you do when they are just volunteers, right? It's a really tough mix.<br /><br />Lauren - In the past I never paid attention to aid station hygiene, so it's comforting to hear that at Ironman you were issued gloves just for bottles! I would think Ironman would have the highest of standards!!!emmers712https://www.blogger.com/profile/15865493476823978890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081872231855122210.post-44993900222053783952015-09-22T02:31:02.290-05:002015-09-22T02:31:02.290-05:00Oh no! What an awful experience! I've been rea...Oh no! What an awful experience! I've been really keen to volunteer but haven't yet gotten round to it! I think I'll start with something small to get experience! I hope they take your feedback onboard or else the future of events will hang in the balance when no one wants to volunteer!Ellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16550242854077100772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081872231855122210.post-36135075800946236292015-09-21T21:43:43.010-05:002015-09-21T21:43:43.010-05:00Sorry to hear that your volunteering didn't go...Sorry to hear that your volunteering didn't go smoother. It is very frustrating when races are not well organized. We volunteered at the Disney half marathon one yr and we go really nice wind breaker jackets and breakfast.Fairytales and Fitnesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02523381883953946478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081872231855122210.post-1922246702690456472015-09-21T19:52:06.077-05:002015-09-21T19:52:06.077-05:00I hear you! I don't give to get, but have had ...I hear you! I don't give to get, but have had some not -so-great experiences. It really makes me appreciate all the hard work it takes to organize a race. I love volunteering!ahotsouthernmesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02162145335095758582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081872231855122210.post-60571246059221796552015-09-21T19:17:14.244-05:002015-09-21T19:17:14.244-05:00I'm sorry your volunteer experience was not gr...I'm sorry your volunteer experience was not great! I can attest as someone supporting athletes that the communication was also not very good -- I was seeing people post on Facebook that they ran out of timing chips on Thursday, a few hours before ppl got an email about it. I knew that the Expo was closing early on Friday at 10:30-11AM, but it took them until 3:30-4 to post to FB about it. Most triathlons are NOT like this, so I hope you give it a better outlook overall! Not sure how other ITU races in other locations are, but this one did seem to have more kinks than you'd normally hear about. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17152316282069493934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081872231855122210.post-29261047530983989872015-09-21T19:09:52.928-05:002015-09-21T19:09:52.928-05:00I'm so sorry to hear that you had such a bad v...I'm so sorry to hear that you had such a bad volunteer experience! I really hate when you offer your time and then everything is chaos and unorganized! It's happened to me before as well. Hope it goes better next time!Alexandra @ My Urban Familyhttp://www.myurbanfamily.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081872231855122210.post-80194037396592415332015-09-21T19:05:17.582-05:002015-09-21T19:05:17.582-05:00I think most aid stations use rubber gloves. When...I think most aid stations use rubber gloves. When I worked an Ironman bike station, we were all issued gloves for handling bottles! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17152316282069493934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081872231855122210.post-13455765989000677032015-09-21T18:09:39.581-05:002015-09-21T18:09:39.581-05:00Oh, wow. I may never drink Gatorade at a race aga...Oh, wow. I may never drink Gatorade at a race again. Bare hand mixing? Ugh. Let's pray most aid stations are not like that. Obviously, the person in charge of the volunteers was in the wrong position. I'm also amazed some of the volunteer didn't do anything. What a mess. At least you did what you could! Thanks for linking up with us! HoHo Runshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01986964581984440945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081872231855122210.post-6861209704803667002015-09-21T17:20:53.616-05:002015-09-21T17:20:53.616-05:00Thanks Wendy, I hope to hear some kind of response...Thanks Wendy, I hope to hear some kind of response to my email, too. But given how communication is clearly not their strength, I am doubtful that they'll address it. It'd be much easier for them to just ignore me, ha!<br /><br />YES - good thing you carry your own fuel. I really think I am going to start carrying my own hydration from now on, too. I'm sure this stuff happens elsewhere, so it's a wonder more people don't get sick!<br /><br />Thanks very much for co-hosting this link-up - I LOVE the topic!!! =)emmers712https://www.blogger.com/profile/15865493476823978890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081872231855122210.post-47419601270504735292015-09-21T17:18:28.354-05:002015-09-21T17:18:28.354-05:00You are absolutely right! There were several times...You are absolutely right! There were several times when runners had to backtrack for Gatorade since they didn't realize I was the only one handing it out. So awful!emmers712https://www.blogger.com/profile/15865493476823978890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081872231855122210.post-59258091662210923362015-09-21T17:03:33.932-05:002015-09-21T17:03:33.932-05:00Thanks for linking up! :)Thanks for linking up! :)Wendy at Taking the Long Way Homehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09934786207724059919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3081872231855122210.post-59610795771150041322015-09-21T17:02:01.282-05:002015-09-21T17:02:01.282-05:00Wow! What a cluster. I sure hope you hear back fro...Wow! What a cluster. I sure hope you hear back from the race director! And I hope no one got sick from the Gatorade! Unbelievable! Your story makes me glad I carry my own fuel.Wendy at Taking the Long Way Homehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09934786207724059919noreply@blogger.com