Giving back to running

[Corpus Cani]

Coach at two schools (paid position)
Head Club Coach.
Some coaching of athletes with a disability (mainly strength and conditioning)
Coaching a relay team of Firefighters running from Gallipoli, Turkey to London Commemorate 90th Anniversary of the Western Front.
Organised (past 7 years) Police and Emergency Services Cross Country Championships.
Course certification (IAAF qualified)
Handicapper.
General dog's body, chief cook and bottle washer

[wantmeback]

I have volunteered in the past, but not in the past year. Guess I should get on that.

I volunteered more than I raced last year! I had no choice. Volunteered at the St. Albert 10 miler and St Albert triathlon (my club puts them on) as well as Blackfoot.

Aside from overall good karma, sometimes volunteering pays off in other ways. It got a Maniac into a race that they otherwise wouldn't have been able to register for. (Unfortunately, they still had to pay. lol)

[Tri_K]

That was my new years resolution last year - to volunteer at at least one race. I did lap counting for a small local tri, and it was a blast. Normally the lap counters are quiet and just tell you when you're done but we were really loud, cheering everyone on in our lane since we had all of their names in front of us. We got a lot of "thank yous" when they got out of the water. They said that it really helped to be encouraged. It was really rewarding! I will definitely volunteer again.

[Irongirl]

Fishpants - you should totally volunteer!

A lot of the positions are for 4 hours - so, it's not all day, and, you can choose a part of the day where your athlete (if you are going to watch someone specific) is out of town anyway......

The volunteers also get to be first in line to sign up now! - scratch that - the websites don't say that anymore.

[turd ferguson]

Also don't forget there are a lot of volunteer positions which aren't on race day. Race expo, handing out numbers, stuffing bags, unloading food and water at the finish, dropping off stuff on the course, etc.

[CinC]

I was only able to vote once, but I've been a volunteer a few times:
- water station
- lead cyclist (which was stressful, but cool to be thanked afterwards by the winner - he said that I kept a good pace and liked the updates I provided (I gave him his split time at the half - and it was just a fun run - no major money involved!)
- marshal
- my favorite by far - Ironman Canada this past summer - on the run course - close to the turnaround. The moment that affected me the most was when a female competitor walked up to our table (it was about 7pm) and when we asked her what she needed, she said that she needed a ride back. I asked her if she was sure, and she started to cry, saying that the medical tent at the last station said that she could keep going, but she said that she couldn't keep anything down...I felt so bad for her - my friend Melanie and I walked with her to our volunteer tent and they got her back. I couldn't imagine getting that far (she dropped out at the mile 12 mark of the marathon)....

I love volunteering - karma baby, karma!

[tritorun]

I was the 3:30 pace bunney at the prince edward county marathon the year after I qualified for Boston at PEC. It was my way of saying thanks toa great race.

Paul

[da]

I help organize our annual run.
This year I'm taking a bigger role.
I'm coordinating online registration and packet pick up registration.
I'll also be responsible for the route. I have a box full of little route marker signs in the basement.

[gamma j]

I'm part of the organizing committee for our local triathlon event.

I also co-ordinate 1 or 2 fun runs each year. Last year we did a half marathon one.

Jean