Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Volunteering at the ZOOMA Great Lakes Half Marathon and 5K

As I'd mentioned here, I went to the Lake Geneva area this past weekend with over a dozen of my closest running/blogger friends for the ZOOMA Great Lakes Half Marathon and 5K.  As I'd also previously mentioned numerous times, I was dealing with too many lingering injuries after the Chicago Marathon to run ZOOMA myself.  But in the spirit of participating, I decided to volunteer for ZOOMA as a course marshall.


As I'd mentioned here, with less than 18 hours to go prior to the race start, I had not received my assigned location or any other information.  I had followed up with the race organizers twice, both times only to be told that they would provide more information soon.  The race organizers had indicated that they were short on volunteers.  Even so, this wasn't a good sign.


My gripes:
  1. The race started at 7:30 AM on Saturday.  I finally received my assigned intersection at about 2:15 PM on Friday afternoon.  However, beyond my location and report time, I was given almost no guidance on what to do. I had to specifically ask where to park, and I asked several other logistical questions that were never answered.
  2. The course map on the ZOOMA website was not nearly detailed enough for me to be able to identify the location of my intersection.  I was told that I would receive a course map and instructions, but I never did.
  3. Given the lack of instruction, I had to look up the location myself, try to figure it out, and cross my fingers that I was right.  My spot was in a somewhat complex intersection, but nobody ever came by to check on me or make sure I was set.  (Little do they know that the words "Walking compass" have never been used in the same sentence as me.  Ever.)
  4. The website indicated that I would receive a goody bag, which I didn't.  The only thing I received was a "race crew" t-shirt.
  5. I had no opportunity to go to the bathroom, no food, and no water. I basically ended up standing out in the cold for four hours with no reprieve.   It got tough, especially towards the end.  When you gotta go, you gotta go.  But I couldn't and didn't go.
  6. The website also indicated that I could attend the post-race party.  However, by the time the sag wagon cleared my spot, the post-race party had already shut down so I wasn't able to attend.  (I did, however, arrive just in time to see them deflate the finish line balloon arch.)
 
The white balloon arch looks much cooler when it's in a state of wrinkled semi-shrunkenness.

I did email the race organizers afterwards to share with them my poor experience.  To their credit, they responded quickly and apologized, said they were taking my feedback seriously, offered to mail me a goody bag, and indicated that things would be much different in the future.  That helped.

OK - enough about those frustrations!  Moving on to the actual course marshall experience itself - it was an eye-opening experience.  I remembered my own experiences from being on a race course and tried to put into action what has worked best for me from the other side.  I cheered all the passing runners as much as I could, give them high-fives, tried to give them the clearest directions that I could.

The half marathon and the 5K only had a combined total of about 600 participants, so it was a small and spread-out group of folks.  Even so, it required a lot of energy to cheer everyone on and my voice was pretty hoarse afterwards.  But, it was especially fun for me to look for all of the dozen-plus runners that I knew and personally cheer them on.  A good number of folks expressed their thanks for me being out there, which made me feel good.  It was also very intrinsically rewarding to see so many runners smile when they passed me.

This was NOT taken at the ZOOMA Great Lakes race, but it epitomizes some of the great smiles I saw from runners passing by me on the course.  How could you not feel good when you see something like this?

There were some surprises, though:
  1. In general, I told everyone that they were awesome (which they all are) - and that I could see the finish line from where I was standing (which I could).  However, quite a few runners told me, some quite emphatically, that I was a liar!  Now, myself having been lied to many times during a race about the proximity of the finish line, I understand how they might be skeptical.  But to yell this at me outright in passing?  Ouch!
  2. A number of runners completely ignored my cheers and outstretched high-five hand.  Some looked like they were just in a fog - which I completely understand, having been there myself many times.  But there were several who purposely looked the other direction as they passed me and/or purposely distanced themselves from my high-five hand.  Yikes!
  3. The roads were supposed to be closed off to cars, unless we motioned them to go through during a break in the runners.  However, a few drivers completely disregarded the race and just drove right through, some without even slowing down.  To quote Keyshawn Johnson (and with as much gusto as I can muster), "C'MON MAN!!!"

All in all, though, this experience really did give me a much bigger appreciation for all race volunteers.  Now I understand first hand the very, very hard work they put forth to make sure a race runs smoothly.  It takes a lot more effort than many would ever realize.  You better believe that in my future races, I'll be high-fiving and thanking every single race spectator or race volunteer that I possibly can!!!

24 comments:

  1. Thanks again for cheering for us. It was great to see a friendly face!

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    1. Thanks, Kelly! Happy to do it for the privilege of being able to hang out with some of the coolest running bloggers known to humankind. =D By the way - looks like there's quite a tossup for our next running blogger getaway between the Illinois and the Wisconsin Half/Full Marathons... the plot thickens!!!

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  2. I agree, volunteering is hard!! And tiring! Thank you for being out there!!!

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    1. Happy to do it! And I remembered reading your recap of your volunteer experiences and thinking, wow, that's a lot of work... but now I really understand how much work it is!

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  3. Volunteering is rough! Sometimes rougher than running, I think! And it doesn't help when the volunteer coordinators seem disorganized. Still, I'm glad you soldiered through because it was great to have a smiling face to look forward to.

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    1. Thank you, you looked awesome out there! And I seriously am more thankful than ever for the fact that you volunteer at Mile 18 of the Chicago Marathon every year. It was hard enough being out there at ZOOMA for 4 hours for a half marathon, I can only imagine how exhausting it must be to be out there for about 8 hours at the Chicago Marathon!!!

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  4. Em, the simple fact that you referenced and quoted Keyshawn Johnson makes this some of your finest work !!!

    ALV

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    1. Thank you. =) Keyshawn was in rare form last night regarding one of the Steelers plays on Sunday night, by the way. Not sure if you saw his commentary? Will tell you more about it tonight. ALV

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  5. I wish everyone realized how tough it is to volunteer. I got a small taste of it when my hubs volunteered at a race I ran (which was much less organized than ZOOMA I promise) so again, THANK YOU! I LOVED seeing your smiling face and hearing you cheer. YOu rock!

    (and seriously - some of the drivers we saw were a bit scary to me! slow the eff down!)

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    1. Thanks, Bobbi! You seriously looked awesome out there on the course!!! Loved how we were all rocking the green compression socks, too. =D

      A course that was much less organized than ZOOMA!?!?!? Shudder! And that sucks that some of those drivers out there were so careless about driving through. If they only knew what it felt like from the other side!!!

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  6. Emily seriously you were the best course Marshall ever! I heard you cheering from way up the road (hill haha!) and couldn't wait to high 5 you. So sorry it wasn't the greatest experience for you. Big boo to missing the after party. It was such a blast meeting you though and I'm looking forward to more running adventures with you!

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    1. Thank you so much, Marcia! I'm actually a little embarrassed to learn that people could hear me from such a distance (I'm sure I was disturbing all the neighbors). =D But you looked fabulous out there! It was a blast meeting you too and I can't wait for more running adventures together, as well!!! GOOD LUCK at Marine Corps this weekend, you are going to do AWESOME!!!

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  7. I'm one of those people that will do EXACTLY what you tell me to do. Therefore, when people fail to tell me what they want, I freak out a little bit. I would have struggled majorly with not knowing the step by step things that I needed to know in your position. Sounds like the race director was not organized! And major props to you for e-mailing them! They need to know.

    Way to go cheering on those runners! I love love love race volunteers (we couldn't race without 'em!) and I try to say thanks on the course, but sometimes it's hard to do even that. It's a thankless job, I guess. But I'll offer you and all the volunteers out there a big THANKS right now!*

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    1. Oh my gosh, I am so glad you understand! It sounds like you and I are very similar when it comes to situations like this. It really is the worst feeling when you know that people are depending on you but you're not entirely clear on what to do.

      Agreed that we always want to say thanks to the volunteers on the course, but sometimes it's hard. When you're struggling just to move your legs forward in the home stretch of a race, it's hard to get the words out! Maybe we should just design a runner's shirt with a big "THANK YOU, RACE VOLUNTEERS!" on the front so they get the message without us having to speak. =D

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  8. I think you were definitely the most cheerful outgoing volunteer I saw on the course and I LOVED IT! I was so happy when we got to you! Remember when I faked going the other way so you had to marshal me?! Ha ha ah. Okay, maybe only I thought that was funny.

    Sersiously though, thanks for volunteering. It's hard work. And I think mostly because of how unorganized some races are. We really appreciated having you there and I was so happy you came up for the other festivities too!!!

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    1. Thanks, Kim!!! I do remember when you faked going the other way, LOL. As you know, when I run races I put forth a lot of effort to run the tangents. So when you went the other way I remember thinking that it must be nice to have the energy at mile 11 to kid around like that. =)

      I had a great time hanging out with you and the whole group this past weekend! Can't wait for our next running blogger getaway. Will it be at the Wisconsin Half/Full or the Illinois Half/Full? Oooh, the plot thickens!!!

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    2. I hope WI! Only because I cannot make the other weekend. But IL probably makes more sense with all the distance options.

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    3. I would be thrilled with either choice (Illinois since I'm an alum, and Wisconsin since it's so close to home!) Too bad we can't do both! Even if the group doesn't end up doing Wisconsin, we can always still all plan a mini-get together around Wisconsin. =)

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  9. So sorry to hear about your horrible experience :( I think it's so important to treat your volunteers as well as you treat the runners. Otherwise, you will associate the entire race with negative thoughts and won't return to volunteer OR run the following year. Hopefully the organizers will take your advice/comments to heart and make the necessary changes!

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    1. Thanks, Irina! To their credit, the volunteer coordinator responded to my original email sharing my experience, plus the race organizers sent me a second email with an apology. I am glad that they took the time to communicate with me because you're right, if they hadn't done so I would have had no intention of getting involved again in future years. So I am very thankful that they are taking the feedback seriously!

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  10. Bummer on the lack of organization from the organization... Glad it kinda worked out in the end. Still looks like you had a great time being Mrs Course Marshall :) We should meet up for a run and coffee soon!

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    1. Thanks Xaar! And as I've said many times, we missed you over the weekend! You should have been there!!! And yes, we need to meet up for a run very soon!!! Please let me know if you are free anytime over the next few weekends for a nice EASY run (I'm still getting my running legs back under me, sigh)!!!

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    2. I feel your pain with the return to running :) I've never felt so sore after a run, my first run back of only 4 miles! Haha

      I'm free this weekend- Saturday might be better for a run because the hot chocolate race is Sunday in my hood. If this weekend is bad we can try for next Saturday too :)

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