Volunteering at the KC Marathon and Half Marathon

I volunteered as a course monitor again this year at the Kansas City Marathon and Half Marathon. New this year was something pretty cool. For each volunteer that completed their assignment as Course Monitor, $10 was donated to the Wounded Warrior Project. The Wounded Warrior Project assists injured service men and women. I always like to run in races that benefit charity so I thought it was great that by volunteering I also got to help a charity! Thanks Kansas City Marathon!

My alarm went off early and I again wondered why I was getting up early to go to a race I am not running in. I am not a morning person so when the alarm clock goes off I am always wondering what possessed me to volunteer for early morning events (or to run in the early morning for that matter!). However, after completing the Chicago Marathon last week I was excited to go to a race and cheer for runners. The Chicago Marathon had literally a million or more spectators along the course and that was pure awesomeness! I know Kansas City won't have that many spectators and since cheering really does help boost a runner during a race I wanted to do my part. I rolled out of bed, dressed in layers and ventured my way towards my assigned location. Along the way I stopped by QT for my coffee and doughnut fix (it's not an every day thing but I occasionally have to have a doughnut especially the pumpkin spice in the fall!) and then found my way to my assigned area. It was still dark and well... Paseo isn't exactly where I want to be in the dark so I stayed in my car until the sun poked it's head up and provided enough light I could see my way around and wouldn't mind being outside.  I was originally scheduled to be at 75th and Wyandotte but because that would put me on the marathon course and not the half marathon course I requested a change in my assignment. I was reassigned to Paseo and Lake Street which put me just before the 11 mile marker for the half marathon and just before the 24 mile marker for the full marathon. This new location assignment would allow me to see a friend running her first half marathon which was really cool. I always enjoy hearing of friends/acquaintances, etc who decide to take up running. Runners are such a weird but fun breed! 

Anyhoo, back to race day. It was a beautiful day for a run (and to volunteer)! Once the sun poked up, I noticed another volunteer a block down so I ventured down her way and chatted with her for a few minutes. Turns out it was her first time volunteering and she was nervous. She was excited because her daughter was running the half marathon and she would be able to cheer for her from our location but she was nervous about what our responsibility as volunteers was. I explained to her our role - to keep cars off of Paseo when runners were in the area. Also, we keep an eye out for runners who might need assistance medically or who may not be able to finish the race under their own power and might need transportation back to the start/finish area. Thankfully we didn't have any runners in our section who needed medical assistance or to catch a ride back to the start/finish area. Thanks to Kansas City Police Department for providing officers to keep traffic off the course! Volunteers work in cooperation with KCPD to help create a safe race for runners.

KC is a great running community and there is literally a race every weekend you could do if you wanted to. The Kansas City marathon and half marathon (and 5k) is one of the bigger events in the area along with Rock The Parkway which is a half marathon in April (and also usually has a 5k or 10k on race day) and Hospital Hill Half Marathon and 5k in June are the other big races in the area. Approximately 12,000 total runners competed in the KC Marathon/Half Marathon/5k last weekend. Here's a pic from near the start. Lots of runners! Great to see so many people getting out and hitting the pavement. 

Because of my location as course monitor it would be nearly an hour after the start before I would see any runners. When the runners were getting close it was apparent as the lead runners get a police escort. This is for the safety of the runners. It allows course monitors to know that it's time to divert traffic away from Paseo (or whatever area they are working along the race route). Here is KCPD providing an escort for the lead runners of the half marathon:

And here are the race leaders of the half marathon:

These guys had such a lead it would be a few minutes before we saw any more runners. But once they started coming it was non-stop runners for hours as the half marathoners and marathoners would be going by my location from approximately 8am until nearly 1pm.

I didn't have much trouble with traffic this year. Some years I encounter rude people who are not happy to be told they need to either wait until the runners have gone by or turn around and go a different direction. This year, I only had one person cause me any problems and he finally decided to listen to me rather than go on to Paseo and then have to face the Police Officer at the next intersection. I was glad he decided to listen to me as there were many runners on the Paseo at that moment and I didn't want to risk harm to any of them. The man decided to turn around and go the direction I instructed him. That doesn't always happen. Last year, I got bumped by an angry driver who did not want to listen to my directions to turn around. The individual sped off before an officer near by was able to do anything about it. I wasn't hurt but anytime someone threatens you with their car is a scary situation. The fleeing driver also did not cause harm to any runners, they just sped off in the direction they wanted to go and the runners were aware enough to scoot over on the road so as not to be hit by the vehicle. This year the only vehicle that got on course while runners were actually running by my location was a fire truck. It was early enough in the race that only the lead runners had gone by which was good because the fire truck came screaming through with lights and sirens. No other emergency vehicles went by so not sure what the emergency was but it apparently didn't have anything to do with the race. The same fire truck came by a few minutes later from the direction it had headed previously, this time without their lights and sirens on so whatever it was they went to previously it must not have been a fire or they wouldn't have been cleared to leave the scene as quickly as they did.

I did have one strange incident this year that I haven't encountered previously. A runner came up to me and said there was a bloody knife in the drain just down the street. Since it was in my section I walked down the street in search of said knife. I ended up not finding it but did report it to the closest police officer. The officer didn't seem too interested in it but did make a report of it. As far as I know, a knife was not found.

As I was heading up the street to look for said knife, my friend who was running her first half marathon, saw me and came running over. We hugged and I told her, "You've got this!". And it was true, she looked good. She looked happy to be running the race and happy to be close to the finish. She had just over 2 miles to go from that point and I made sure to tell her that. She went zooming off to the finish and I would later learn that she met all her goals for her race. Way to go Sherri! I was really happy for her especially considering the rough few weeks she had leading up to the race. We all face difficult times. It's not those times that define us, but how we react to them. She could have decided not to run the KC Half Marathon and I don't think anyone would have blamed her for skipping it. Instead, she faced it head on and had a great race. I am so proud of her for doing that!

I spent the remainder of the race watching for traffic, cheering for runners and ringing a cow bell as a means to provide some mental stimulation for the runners. I know I always appreciate hearing cow bells during a race. Encouragement from the crowd is great but there is something about hearing a cow bell during a race that just seems to stick out. I would pay a small price for ringing the cow bell for so many hours. A blister formed on the knuckle of my middle finger. It would turn in to a painful blood blister that is lingering today... 4 days post race. Here is a pic:

Despite the blister, I had fun. I always enjoy helping out at races that I am not running in. It's a way to give back to the sport I love so much. I am not fast, so I make sure to pay special attention to the middle to back of the pack runners. We are all covering the same distance but I can tell you from experience that being a slower runner is difficult. We are out there longer than the fast runners. Because we are out there longer, we sometimes miss out on things like aid stations, cheering crowds and even finisher medals. I volunteer because I love the sport of running but I also volunteer to make sure that all runners in the race are safe while on the course and get a little encouragement along the way. I know what it's like to run a 5:20 mile but those days are long gone. I am happy now if I can get a 10 minute mile and even that doesn't happen often much anymore. I am more of a back of the pack runner these days and that's okay. If you know me, you know I run for my mental health as much as my physical health. The benefits of running are amazing and I can't see my life without running being a part of it. Any time I can encourage someone else to run is a good day in my book. I encourage all runners to volunteer at a race. Volunteers are needed to make races successful and safe. In the process, you just might gain a new appreciation for running that you hadn't experienced before. Happy Running!