The Other Side

I have ran many a race in my short four years as a runner. In fact the racing bibs on my wall now tally 37. It may not surprise anyone that I save the bibs. Each one is dated and the finish time etched on the corner, least I forget. A handful have a special notation to indicate a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place age group win. I'm not the fastest, but in my age group I can often do some damage. Each bib as a story behind it, most also have a blog. All this will help keep me honest when my grandkids ask me how fast I was when I was "young". Let's be clear, when that day comes, I'll still be racing and they'll come see for themselves as their old fart grandpa runs....jogs....wheels....his way across the finish line - no matter how long it takes. "Hey mister, don't take the finish sign down yet, my grandpa is still out there...."

Saturday I was at a 5k. Not as a runner, not as a spectator, but as part of a team putting this race on.  While my part was small compared to others, it was the first time I was on the other side. It was also the first time I appreciated what it takes to take a 5k from an idea and turn it into an actual event. Flippin H baby, it's crazy! I wouldn't do it justice to try and list everything that is required because I know I would leave out so much - that's because it takes a village, with each tribe member doing their share to make it happen. The village also needs strong leaders - else you just have a bunch of well intended idiots running around creating havoc...or worse. We had that leadership in Sharon and Dana. Each shared the vision of raising money for a great cause and together they managed to wrangle up some volunteers and put together a plan. Though their styles were different, their hearts were pointed towards the same goal. Without them this race wouldn't have happened and the reality is that some kids would have to go without. Today was not that day however and those two are the reason. Thank you.

Oh, that list of stuff to do? Let's see...humm....Finding a location, getting permission, checking with the appropriate entities about permits and the legal stuff, securing vendors, finding sponsors, obtaining donations of food and goodies for the runners, ordering t-shirts, racing bibs, communicating the event, somehow finding a timing clock and timing gear and the people who knew how to use them, measuring the course, marking the course, securing volunteers to all sorts of duties that most runners take for granted, pre-registration, same day registration, and my friends, that's only half of it. The hours that go into an event like this seem endless.

It came together. The day of the race the clouds parted and we had blue skies above. We all went about our jobs - did I mention we needed to arrive at 6:30am for a 9:30 race?  I poo pooed that idea and it turns out that I was wrong. Yup, Mikey was wrong. Dead wrong. There is so much to do on race day! My apologies to those of you who felt my frustration in this regard. I may have been a little snarky...One task I had was to help Steve hang the start/finish sign. One might say that it is a critical task. The day before we eyeballed where we'd put it. Upon further examination on race day, it turned out that we'd have to make an adjustment to make it work. Steve tossed a rope up one tree branch with the skill of a cowboy pulling in a stray steer. In no time we had that sign hung - straight and true. In the meantime, course signs were going up, balloons everywhere, the course re-walked for an accurate measurement, tables set up for registration and vendors, the finish chute and timing station was constructed. Whew....it was something to see. I did manage to grab a donut (two) and chat with some friends and vendors.

The race started only 5 minutes late with some words from the Y about Invest in Youth, some rules regarding the course and safety (me), and the start of the race via a bullhorn (Sharon).  Sharon. Bullhorn. Sharon. Bullhorn. I'm not sure those two should have met - she was all over it! OMG she was a natural.  It was actually funny to watch her cheer the runners on as they closed in on the finish. She cheered non-stop. At one point she was yelling through it and we realized that the volume was off and it was all her!

Albert and I got to wear these cool timing devices to track the runners when they crossed the finish line. The task was actually easy. Press the orange button each time a runner crosses. Press it once. One time only. Don't press it twice. Frickin hell, I must have an itchy trigger finger cause I double hit it a bunch of times. Albert on the other hand was calm and collected and didn't seem to have a problem at all. Turns out that they used his results and called mine the "backup".....Next year I'll be handing out water.

We had an awards ceremony at the end. Albert's brother Jerry won the race and Carrie (our Y-Tri sister) came in first for the women. Both received a free pair of running shoes from Run26 - how cool is that!  Sponsors rock. So much more happen but honestly I don't know what. Once the race started my place was at the finish line, pressing the button and cheering as the runners came in. Runners finished and I'm sure there were celebrations with hugs and high fives. The last runner came in and it was time to clean up the course and pack it in. We hit Starbucks a little tired but happy. The run was a success. Everybody finished. No one got hurt. Everyone seemed to have a great time. I did. I'd do it again. The next race I run I'll be sure and say thank you to as many volunteers as I can. The organizers and volunteers are the heart of any race and I was proud of those I worked with and honored to have been part of something so important.