A Short Story
It's dark and cold. The wind is gusting, driving the temperature down even further. The bustle has died down, leaving the night in silence. Then in the distance a glimmer of light. It gets closer, but oh so slowly. The miles and hours are getting long and everything is slowing down. But that glimmer of light. Finally! People are close by. While I'm sure the other runners at Stories Ultra had similar experiences - seeing the lights of the aid station appearing on Acorn Alley, this short story isn't about us. No - it's about the volunteers, the unsung heroes of this crazy sport. While we are out running in the dark and cold, the volunteers are huddled around a fire, trying to stay warm and stay awake. There is nothing to do but wait for a runner to appear on the hillside above the campground.
Every race requires an army of volunteers to run smoothly. From course marking and set up the day before the race and runner check in and other pre-race activities race morning, to aid station volunteers or timing assistance and then course sweep and tear down. At the best races, you never see the army working behind scenes to prepare for the race. You just see the aid station volunteers, hopefully cheerful, helpful and able to offer all kinds of treats. Runners never see the work going into all the course marking or the venue step up. We just see the colored ribbons and the signs telling us which way to go. We don't realize afterwards that every single ribbon has to be removed, the signs all pulled up, the trails swept for trash and the venue torn down. There's a lot that goes into organizing a race that sometimes gets lost in the shuffle.
Course marking. Runners take for granted all those miles of ribbons leading us down the correct trail. We expect signs to tell us where to go, so we can turn off our brains, not bother looking at a course map and just run. If a turn is missed because the runner wasn't paying attention or hadn't really looked at the map to see the nearly 180 turn at one intersection, then we get mad. But what really goes into marking a course? In many cases, it's running or hiking the entire course with engineer tape, signs on stakes and a sledge hammer. Every main intersection has to be marked, double flagged and signs hammered into the ground. After each potential for turning off course, there needs to be more flagging so runners know where they should go. Then confidence flagging so it's clear that you're still on the right trail. And you have to mark it from a runner's perspective. Will they be running fast and looking up the trail or power hiking with eyes focused a few feet in front of them? That makes a difference as to where and how frequently the ribbons need to be hung. I found all this out this weekend when I helped mark the course for Stories Ultra and then ran. It's not as simple as just tying a few ribbons on the trees and calling it good. A loop that normally takes me an hour to run took me nearly two and a half hours to finish. And try running with a Christmas tree of staked signs and a sledge hammer in your pack! While I jokingly said that if anyone got lost on blue I was taking it personally - and I really hope no one did! - there were a few places where as a runner I was thinking that a few more flags or signs might be nice. And a testament to how much John cares about his runners? When one of the loops wasn't quite as well marked as he wanted, he set two volunteers out to add extra flagging the minute he heard about some issues.
Aid Stations and Timing. At most ultras, the aid station have a more definite time. They can expect runners between x time and y time. Not a stories. The single aid station had to staffed for the entire 30 hours, ready on a moments notice to serve up a cornucopia of treats. Want a bacon grilled cheese? Give me five minutes and you'll have a hot and gooey sandwich to enjoy. How about a fried turkey with mashed potatoes? At Stories, there was also the added complexity of three different races with three different mentalities. In the dawn of Saturday, it was quiet - the 30 and 15 hour runners on course, still stuffed from breakfast. Then the 6 hour runners joined the fray and breakfast started wearing off for the longer runners. How to balance keeping everyone fed, happy and not lingering? The fact that it was one aid station for the entire race also made it more complicated. Yes, everyone was concentrated in the same area, but it also had the effect of making the race seem bigger. But then, after the 15 hour race ended the darkness and cold descended. It was just the 30 hour racer putting in the miles and the buzz at the aid station died down - until the light of a runner appeared on the trail above camp. Then it was time for action! And every time I ran down the trail to finish a loop, the aid station was hopping - ready to serve. I was cold running at times over night. I can't imagine the layers of clothes needed to stay warm the minute someone stepped away from the fire. Which brings me to the timers. With a race a complicated as stories - three races, four (five really) different loops - the timers had to be on point. It wasn't as simple as runner so and so crossed the line at this time. It was runner so and so just finished the green loop at this time, while another runner is doing her third golden loop. When the Golden Loop was in play for the last hour of each race, runners are also coming from different directions. Try keeping all that in order! Doesn't help when the runners forget what loop they are on either... The timers weren't near the fire either, so they had to bundle up to stay warm. Luckily, John had a propane heater blasting for them. Even so, as the temperature dropped the timers were still out there, always cheerful and encouraging when I ran in.
So, the moral of this story? It takes an army to make a race run smoothly. As runners, we don't always see the army in motion - but we are more then willing to complain when something doesn't run smoothly. Don't complain! Work to make it better - volunteer for something at a race and see what is involved. Become a part of the solution. It's not work when you are having fun and when you are giving back to the running community!
Every race requires an army of volunteers to run smoothly. From course marking and set up the day before the race and runner check in and other pre-race activities race morning, to aid station volunteers or timing assistance and then course sweep and tear down. At the best races, you never see the army working behind scenes to prepare for the race. You just see the aid station volunteers, hopefully cheerful, helpful and able to offer all kinds of treats. Runners never see the work going into all the course marking or the venue step up. We just see the colored ribbons and the signs telling us which way to go. We don't realize afterwards that every single ribbon has to be removed, the signs all pulled up, the trails swept for trash and the venue torn down. There's a lot that goes into organizing a race that sometimes gets lost in the shuffle.
Course marking. Runners take for granted all those miles of ribbons leading us down the correct trail. We expect signs to tell us where to go, so we can turn off our brains, not bother looking at a course map and just run. If a turn is missed because the runner wasn't paying attention or hadn't really looked at the map to see the nearly 180 turn at one intersection, then we get mad. But what really goes into marking a course? In many cases, it's running or hiking the entire course with engineer tape, signs on stakes and a sledge hammer. Every main intersection has to be marked, double flagged and signs hammered into the ground. After each potential for turning off course, there needs to be more flagging so runners know where they should go. Then confidence flagging so it's clear that you're still on the right trail. And you have to mark it from a runner's perspective. Will they be running fast and looking up the trail or power hiking with eyes focused a few feet in front of them? That makes a difference as to where and how frequently the ribbons need to be hung. I found all this out this weekend when I helped mark the course for Stories Ultra and then ran. It's not as simple as just tying a few ribbons on the trees and calling it good. A loop that normally takes me an hour to run took me nearly two and a half hours to finish. And try running with a Christmas tree of staked signs and a sledge hammer in your pack! While I jokingly said that if anyone got lost on blue I was taking it personally - and I really hope no one did! - there were a few places where as a runner I was thinking that a few more flags or signs might be nice. And a testament to how much John cares about his runners? When one of the loops wasn't quite as well marked as he wanted, he set two volunteers out to add extra flagging the minute he heard about some issues.
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| Part of course marking - running or hiking a few miles with some interesting signs in the pack! |
Aid Stations and Timing. At most ultras, the aid station have a more definite time. They can expect runners between x time and y time. Not a stories. The single aid station had to staffed for the entire 30 hours, ready on a moments notice to serve up a cornucopia of treats. Want a bacon grilled cheese? Give me five minutes and you'll have a hot and gooey sandwich to enjoy. How about a fried turkey with mashed potatoes? At Stories, there was also the added complexity of three different races with three different mentalities. In the dawn of Saturday, it was quiet - the 30 and 15 hour runners on course, still stuffed from breakfast. Then the 6 hour runners joined the fray and breakfast started wearing off for the longer runners. How to balance keeping everyone fed, happy and not lingering? The fact that it was one aid station for the entire race also made it more complicated. Yes, everyone was concentrated in the same area, but it also had the effect of making the race seem bigger. But then, after the 15 hour race ended the darkness and cold descended. It was just the 30 hour racer putting in the miles and the buzz at the aid station died down - until the light of a runner appeared on the trail above camp. Then it was time for action! And every time I ran down the trail to finish a loop, the aid station was hopping - ready to serve. I was cold running at times over night. I can't imagine the layers of clothes needed to stay warm the minute someone stepped away from the fire. Which brings me to the timers. With a race a complicated as stories - three races, four (five really) different loops - the timers had to be on point. It wasn't as simple as runner so and so crossed the line at this time. It was runner so and so just finished the green loop at this time, while another runner is doing her third golden loop. When the Golden Loop was in play for the last hour of each race, runners are also coming from different directions. Try keeping all that in order! Doesn't help when the runners forget what loop they are on either... The timers weren't near the fire either, so they had to bundle up to stay warm. Luckily, John had a propane heater blasting for them. Even so, as the temperature dropped the timers were still out there, always cheerful and encouraging when I ran in.
So, the moral of this story? It takes an army to make a race run smoothly. As runners, we don't always see the army in motion - but we are more then willing to complain when something doesn't run smoothly. Don't complain! Work to make it better - volunteer for something at a race and see what is involved. Become a part of the solution. It's not work when you are having fun and when you are giving back to the running community!
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