Hey everyone! You all (well, those of you who’ve been reading for a year) got to follow me through training for and running the Chicago Marathon, but now you get to see what it’s like to be a volunteer!
Marathon weekend started off on Friday when I headed down to the expo at McCormick place with Lindsay. We took a shuttle to get there (I took a bus downtown to get on the shuttle) and it was free and surprisingly quick!
Lindsay and and I walked around, sampled things at the booths, got her bib and t-shirt, and she did a little shopping in the Nike Marathon Shop!
We also made sure to get a really good shot “with” Hal Higdon for her…
Since the water station we were volunteering at (mile 18) was probably the furthest point from my apartment and we had to be there at 6:30am, I ended up having a sleepover at Kelsey’s apartment so we could just grab a cab together in the morning. We had some snacks, made some posters, and before we knew it we were up in the morning and off to Mile 18!
It was at Taylor and Loomis, which is in Little Italy and an area I’ve never explored before. It was REALLY cute and I definitely want to go back!
By the way, check out those great track suit jackets… I felt like a male basketball player in mine. Probably won’t be wearing that again.
We got assigned to a water table and had to place all the little cups out, fill them all up, and then layer cardboard on top and do it all over again.
Look at that beautiful table. We were quite proud of ourselves.
Our job, as I’m sure you guessed it, was to hand out water! Perk of being friends with Erin, a site coordinator, is that we got water as opposed to Gatorade. I was afraid of getting Gatorade all over me from people spilling, but water I was okay with!
Our job, however, was more difficult than anticipated. Mostly because there was an over-achieving man standing right in front of me. He would stick his arm out so far and kept edging over the line we were supposed to stand behind that I not only couldn’t hand my water to people until it started getting really busy, but I couldn’t SEE anything. Serious pet peeve.
As you can see above, he also ruined my photos of the elite coming through…
Anyway, despite wanting to murder one of my fellow volunteers, once the crowds of runners started coming through, time really flew by quickly! We saw Lindsay and then Bethany, but I missed a couple other people I was looking for. It was really hard to spot people out of the crowd, especially when you’re trying to focus on passing out water, not spilling and going back to grab more cups!
And of course one of my favorite parts was watching the elite runners come through. Seriously, these guys look like they are on a Sunday stroll, just jogging along.
Once the crowds started to thin out, Kelsey and I were sent to clean up cups. She shoveled the cups and I held the trash bags… let’s just say all I wanted to do after that was wash my hands…
One thing I didn’t realize about volunteering was, although time flew by, it was EXHAUSTING. I may not have run a marathon but I was on my feet for 8 hours on Sunday and I just collapsed when I got home!
Congratulations again to all the runners who were there, it was so fun to cheer you all on! And yes, it totally gave me the racing bug again…
Have you ever volunteered or spectated a race?
What is a pet peeve of yours?
Which would you rather drink, Gatorade or water? I hate Gatorade… so water for me!
I volunteered for our local marathon this year. It was really fun, but we got orange nylon jackets. Yup, orange!. The area I live in is famous for its oranges so everything is orange! And with my skin tone, it wasn’t doing me any favors! I had an amazing day, though!
Oh geez, haha at least my jacket is navy!
One of my company’s clients at my old job was the Pittsburgh Marathon. I was on hand all marathon weekend to help out with the media/help out in general. I was on site at 3:30am on race day!
You’re right, it is exhausting but it was also SO MUCH FUN for me. I had never been to a marathon before. Not to mention, inspiring. I was in awe of the elite runners…and so many others!
Oh gosh, 3:30am is WAY earlier than I had to be there! I’m glad you had fun!
Good for you for volunteering! I volunteered in 2008 (starting line, very cool) but this year I spectated at 13 then 17. Can’t imagine being able to see anyone when you’re concentrating on handing out water. Awesome skillz!
oh cool, starting line must have been really fun!
Thanks again for volunteering!!!
And we can totally go explore that area. There’s a bunch of cute restaurants including an AMAZING breakfast spot :).
YES! We’re going out to breakfast there! lol either a Sunday or Sat when you’re done with lab…
Thank you so much for volunteering your time to keep us hydrated. I am aw of each and every volunteer. You guys all rocked!
Awww you are SO WELCOME! Haha
So glad we did it together, so much more fun that way!!
omg SO MUCH more fun! I would have punched that guy if you weren’t there to keep me entertained.
That is SO cool that you volunteered! I am always so grateful for those awesome people who hand out water/gatorade & such.
Sorry about the dude with the long arm–that is wayyy annoying.
And those elites?! Holy cow.
oh my gosh the elites are AMAZING! Especially since so many run Chicago, it’s awesome to see!
I volunteered on Sunday as well at the aid station between miles 12 and 13. I was standing for 6 hours instead of 8 but was exhausted after too! I had to take a nap when I got home. I’ve volunteered for the marathon twice and have done Gatorade both times. Everyone always says to try and avoid it but it really isn’t bad. I was surprised how easily it washes out of your clothes and I only ended up with a small amount on me anyway. I too have the racing bug. I want to sign up for a fun half marathon in another city like you did!
Yea, I was surprised I didn’t get spilled on very much, so Gatorade wouldn’t have been too bad!
Thanks so much for volunteering! I’ve worked/volunteered several races before, and I really think it can be more tiring than running the race itself, so I’m SO grateful to people like you who take the time out of their day to volunteer at races. Plus I DEFINITELY needed to see a friendly face or three at mile 18, so it was great to have that to look forward to when I felt like dying haha. Thanks for your work!
Haha I thought it was more tiring than the race! And we loved having YOU to look forward to! Knowing we were going to see you made volunteering go by faster!
What a fun experience! I’d really like to volunteer at a marathon one day since I don’t think the actual race is in my future!
You should definitely volunteer, it’s a great way to feel a part of the big day! And you get SO MANY thank yous from runners as they are going by!
Thank you for volunteering! And, yes, I noticed that guy, I think he switched sides at one point because more people were on the other side of the street. Points for enthusiasm, I guess.
Hahahahahahahahahaha he was WAY enthusiastic – Super Volunteer!
I’m actually impressed that they gave you track jackets! I’m volunteering at a race in November and we just get t-shirts. That’s okay with me, though, since I’m volunteering inside at the expo!
Hahaha, that man. I love how he’s stretching out his arm that far for the elite runners.
Well Chicago is pretty big, and entrants pay a lot more to race (it was $150 my year but I know it goes up every year). I’m also pretty sure they do jackets since it’s cold and they want to make sure people can tell you’re a volunteer; if you got a t-shirt you’d just put your coat over it!
I have run many races and worked several, but never volunteered for one. Being a slow runner, I often feel guilty that people are handing out water for a long, long time for me to run past and get hydrated! You rock!
Oh no, no! We loved the later groups of runners actually because they were so nice, we got a LOT more thank yous from them!
Volunteering at races is so much fun -glad you and Kelsey were able to volunteer together! I volunteered around mile 20 at the 2011 Chicago Marathon. A group of high schoolers were there also and they did not stay behind the line -so annoying! I was exhausted too afterwards – it’s a lot of work, but had fun cheering on all the runners! Doing that actually inspired me to run the marathon the next year!
Haha we had a group of high schoolers as well, some were helpful and others just stood around and chatted…
Very interesting to see the Chicago marathon from a volunteer perspective! I ran in the race the year it was super hot, and they had to close it early (thankfully I finished!).
I can imagine it was a tough year for both the racers AND the volunteers that year, especialyl when they ran out of water.
Good for you for doing this 🙂
Oh my gosh, they ran out of water!? I’m not surprised but I’m sure that was really stressful! It was pretty cool this year so we were good on water, it was a good year to race! I ran last year and it was really cold so, again, lucky!
I’m all about the water too. I couldn’t even tell you the last time I’ve had Gatorade!
I would have wanted to murder that guy too. How annoying!
Thanks for the water! I”m sad that I missed Hal at the expo! I think I’m going to volunteer next year. Looks like a BLAST!