Organizer?!

Of course that best friend of mine (Julia),  decided to just go out and run 13.1 miles. That means I had a volunteer job to be done. Today was the 14th annual Gobbler Grind! Julia's second annual! (Also, Gobbler Grind was my very first cheerleader race for Julia too!) So don't get me wrong, this isn't my first rodeo as a volunteer so I would consider myself pretty much in the groove of what there should be and what there shouldn't be.

Let's go back, let's go back *Dane Cook voice* on November 1st I emailed to volunteer. Although, I never received anything back. I was slightly concerned, I emailed again November 10th ya know since the race is in less then 2 weeks. Well finally they email me back November 12, saying they would love for me to volunteer. So they informed me they are doing packet pick up on Saturday. So knowing I wanted to be there for Julia and her sister Em when they crossed the finish line. I volunteered for packet pick up, so the lady emails me back saying I will have to be at the hotel from 11am-6pm for packet pick up, and if I could  be at the race at 6am Sunday for late packet pick up!  Holy Volunteer Time!

Yesterday yup my glorious day off I get to wake up at the same ole time and head out to KS for packet pick up! I get there (10:40am), there's a bunch of old ladies walking around and the Road ID guy (Josh). I ask where I should be and what I should be working on. Basically I thought I was talking to myself, Josh kindly told me that he has a job for me. Except he needs to find out where they put the timing chips. Go figure, no elder lady remembers signing for 3 giant boxes of timing chips. In my mind I'm thinking WTF, how do you NOT know where the timing chips are that's the most important part of a race!! For the next 40 minutes, we are still on the hunt for timing chips! LORD! Finally Josh comes back with boxes, the coordinator had them sent to the hotel and forgot they were in the closet! So around 11:20 we finally have chips, and it's time to match up the bib numbers with chip numbers. Well let's remind you, that there are 2,500 people registered for this race. Well none of the old ladies would help us! I mean why wouldn't they just stand and look at us 4 younger volunteers try to stuff as fast as our hands allow us. Cause guess what, packet pick up begins at NOON! Needless to say, we didn't get them all stuffed in time, people where bitching, volunteers were frantic. Then there's me, that's saying calm down! Racers can wait to ensure we get it done correctly! Eventually I had to leave the half marathon table, one of the volunteers was too high strung for me!! Once I moved over to the t-shirt table with 2 HS boys volunteer, my life was much more calm and I felt more at home. The boys and I did fight like brothers and sister, and racers did ask us if we were siblings. Even if one of the boys is a foreign exchange student from the UK with the thickest British accent I've heard, ohhh and he informed me that "you don't mow the grass".... "you mow the Garden." Oh how I learned a thing or 2 from those boys, and they made my day go by FAST! Although with the lack of organization, I didn't leave the hotel till 6:30pm STARVING!

Being at the course at 6am, wasn't going to happen especially after the long day I had yesterday. Although I did get at the course at 7am helped with getting the rest of the late pick up people!  I went over and decided I would do some chip cutting while the 5k runners were coming in. I knew that Julia's time is she'd be coming to the finish at 2 hours and 30 minutes! So chip clipping it is. Let's first start off with holy 5k cluster fuck! They basically had the 5ker's running in circles, many got frustrated and quit. After our very last wonderful 5ker, who I've seen her at many many races. I moved everything over so the half and full marathoners wouldn't get confused. WRONGO! For some odd reason rather then having one set of timing mats, (Blue mats) there were too! So many people just stopped running at the first set of mats. So I was stand shortly after the first set of mats telling runners they weren't done! From there I went over and started handing out water and gatorade, we had just got our big rush of 2 hour runners! Guess what! NO water and they guy said he was on his way back with it. Yeah there were many angry runners. I mean I was angry for the runners! I then left since there was no water, went back to steer runners in the right direction and wait for Julia and Em!! I saw Lo, Goliath and Julia's Momma so I knew they were coming close! (On a side note, G was so excited to see me! His Dad kept yelling at him, but I secretly miss G just as much!!) The girls made it! Looking amazing!

Well done ladies!

Of course a race tradition for Julia, no matter if we race or volunteer we always head to First Watch for Breakfast! Duh It's a MUST! Julia's race buddy Scott joined us at First Watch so we were talking about what needs to change at the race to make it better for me the volunteer and them the runners!

I decided that when I got home, I would email and offer to also be a organizer for the Gobbler Grind next year!! Now since it took them almost 2 weeks to reply on me being a volunteer, will they even take the time to take up suggestions to have me help as an organizer! After this disaster of a race, I also emailed the coordinator for the Oz Marathon that Julia is doing April 16!! So if I become an organizer on the Oz Marathon, who wants to be a fellow volunteer!!

Hahaha! I felt Hyperlink HAPPY today!

Since my knee no longer allows me to join in running!
We will still have "race" pictures!