Life After Marathons: A Running/barre3/Coffee/Life Journal

[SarahDisney]

I Volunteer As …​

I’ve been saying for a while that if I didn’t do Wine & Dine, I’d volunteer at the NYC Marathon. I wanted to volunteer last year, but I thought my family would have a problem with it, so I didn’t (and it turns out I had stuff to do that day anyway, so I guess it worked out well for me). Now that I’ve decided not to do Wine & Dine ( ), I’m officially going to volunteer at the marathon.

But … what am I going to do? I’ve volunteered at the fluid station at a smaller race, and I did enjoy that, but I’m not sure if I want to do it again or try something new. There are a lot of opportunities available for the race, but I’ve narrowed it down to a few that I’m most interested in.

Here are the volunteer opportunities I’m considering:

Fluid Station Mile 14 (Queens) OR Fluid Station Mile 15 (Queens), 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Pros:

• I’ve done fluid station before, and I know that not only can I do it, but I enjoy it
• Fairly easy commute to either location

Cons:

• Same old, same old … maybe I want to try something new

Course Marshal – Queensboro (aka 59th St) Bridge, 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM
Pros:

• Decent commute – a little less than an hour.
• Trying something new! And something a little outside my comfort zone, which is always a little scary but very important.

Cons:

• I might not be assertive enough to be a course marshal ... I'm probably more scared of the runners than they are of me.

Finish
There are a few finish area opportunities that I’m considering. The big pro for all of them is that I get to see people right after they finish the marathon, congratulate them, and help them get started on their recovery and/or celebration.
Some of these are really long shifts, though (especially heat sheet distribution, which is what I really wanted to do ... but I don't know that I want to do a 13-hour shift), especially if you consider the fact that it’s a longer commute than doing something in Queens.

Anyway, here are the finish area opportunities I’m considering:
Heat Sheet Distribution, 7:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Food Bag Distribution: Shift 1, 7:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Food Bag Distribution: Shift 2, 12:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Bag Check Shift 1, 9:30 AM - 2:00 PM
Bag Check Shift 2, 1:00 PM - 6:00 PM

So … those are the things I’m considering. Right now I’m leaning towards either food bag distribution at the finish or a fluid station in Queens, but I’m going to take a few days to think about it and probably will make a decision next week.

I would love to hear any insight/advice ... either if it's something you've done before or something you're considering and want me to do it first so that you can read about the experience before trying it (just remember ... the marathon is not until November).

 

[Ariel484]

I wonder if I could paint it white, wear it to Disney, and then try to convince people that they missed the "Spaceship Earth Half Marathon Weekend" ... (too mean?)

DO IT!! So what is the Spaceship Earth Half Marathon? Do you run 13.1 miles around SSE? 13.1 miles through time?

I would vote for food bag person, just to try something different. Plus, everyone loves getting post-race food.

 

[run.minnie.miles]

I actually think that medal is kind of cool

You have some great volunteering options- they are pretty long shifts though! I personally would shy away from course marshaling, I would rather have busy work (filling cups, checking bags, handing out something). Excited to hear which you pick!

 

[ZellyB]

I wonder if I could paint it white, wear it to Disney, and then try to convince people that they missed the "Spaceship Earth Half Marathon Weekend" ... (too mean?)

I also got an immediate SSE vibe, so think this is a spectacular idea! LOL

Regarding the volunteering, I've never done any volunteering although it's on my list of things I want to do this year, but I think I'd also go for the food bag distribution at the end. Not sure I'd want to hand out heat sheets for 13 hours. EEK!

 

[SarahDisney]

Not the best picture, but ... I think I like the shirt.

 

[jennamfeo]

13.1 miles through time?

HAHAHAHA. That sounds like fun!

Guess what I am doing this weekend?! Volunteering at a local Triathlon!!! You definitely influenced me to do it since I decided not to participate in the race itself because they fudged up all the distances. But a local running group is manning a water station at the beginning of the run segment so I am going to hang out there and hand out water and cheer people on. And hopefully make some running friends, too. All I have ever done at races was hand out water and cheer so I don't know what route you should go with the NYC Marathon, but WHYYY are the finish line shifts so long?! Good grief.

 

[Bree]

I sort of like the medal, but not as much as the other ones you posted. It really does look like SE!

 

[FredtheDuck]

That medal immediately made me think of the ball drop on NYE.

One thing to consider with food bag distribution is how crowded the area you'd be working would be. I don't have a phobia of crowds, but I'm short and hate getting jostled, so the crowded finishing areas where I've picked up some food post-race (looking at you, MCM 10k) are a little overwhelming to me... I personally feel like I'd have a hard time manning a station in that area for hours. But, the flipside is you'd get to see and help replenish a lot of grateful runners, and that'd be awesome!

 

[SarahDisney]

DO IT!! So what is the Spaceship Earth Half Marathon? Do you run 13.1 miles around SSE? 13.1 miles through time?

It's a 3-race weekend:
5K - running circles around SSE
10K - all on the highways, but with the smell of Rome burning
Half - Run backwards in time for half the race, then back to the present in the second half. It's super hi-tech.

I would vote for food bag person, just to try something different. Plus, everyone loves getting post-race food.

Thanks for the advice/insight!

I actually think that medal is kind of cool

That seems to be the consensus among everyone who isn't me. From what I've seen, I'm in the minority for not liking it.

You have some great volunteering options- they are pretty long shifts though! I personally would shy away from course marshaling, I would rather have busy work (filling cups, checking bags, handing out something). Excited to hear which you pick!

Thanks for the advice. The shifts are definitely long, but I was expecting that - it's a long race! And I definitely get what you're saying about having busy work ... makes a lot of sense.

I also got an immediate SSE vibe, so think this is a spectacular idea! LOL

I guess I have to invest in some paint now ...

Regarding the volunteering, I've never done any volunteering although it's on my list of things I want to do this year, but I think I'd also go for the food bag distribution at the end. Not sure I'd want to hand out heat sheets for 13 hours. EEK!

Thanks for the advice/insight. I think I'd be more inclined to do the heat sheets if it wasn't such a long shift. 13 hours ...

Guess what I am doing this weekend?! Volunteering at a local Triathlon!!! You definitely influenced me to do it since I decided not to participate in the race itself because they fudged up all the distances. But a local running group is manning a water station at the beginning of the run segment so I am going to hang out there and hand out water and cheer people on. And hopefully make some running friends, too. All I have ever done at races was hand out water and cheer so I don't know what route you should go with the NYC Marathon, but WHYYY are the finish line shifts so long?! Good grief.

Yay! Have fun volunteering!
Those shifts are super long ... I kind of understand because it's a long race, but ... yeah.

I sort of like the medal, but not as much as the other ones you posted. It really does look like SE!

I definitely like the old ones better too. It's kinda funny that everyone thinks it looks like SSE ... I didn't see that at all until someone pointed it out.

That medal immediately made me think of the ball drop on NYE.

I'm pretty sure that's what they were going for. It makes sense.

One thing to consider with food bag distribution is how crowded the area you'd be working would be. I don't have a phobia of crowds, but I'm short and hate getting jostled, so the crowded finishing areas where I've picked up some food post-race (looking at you, MCM 10k) are a little overwhelming to me... I personally feel like I'd have a hard time manning a station in that area for hours. But, the flipside is you'd get to see and help replenish a lot of grateful runners, and that'd be awesome!

That's an excellent point and something I need to consider - thanks for mentioning it. I'm going to try to remember to pay attention to the food bag distribution at Sundays race (since it's a somewhat comparable situation, if not exactly the same) and see if I can get a sense of how chaotic it is.

 

[Ariel484]

It's a 3-race weekend:
5K - running circles around SSE
10K - all on the highways, but with the smell of Rome burning
Half - Run backwards in time for half the race, then back to the present in the second half. It's super hi-tech.

I would 100% do this. Even though running backwards would be incredibly painful and I'd probably fall down a lot.

 

[SarahDisney]

I would 100% do this. Even though running backwards would be incredibly painful and I'd probably fall down a lot.

Yeah, there are usually some injuries in the backwards part of the race. But unfortunately, due to wormholes and black holes and time holes, the only way to travel back in time is by running backwards. Or by riding Spaceship Earth (which is an option during the 5K)

 

[SarahDisney]

Better picture of the shirt:

(You can't tell from this picutre, but the shirt is long sleeves, which makes me happy)

 

[SarahDisney]

Guys!! I'm making myself a playlist in case I need a pick me up during the race (because the 4 playlists I already have might not be enough...)

Feel free to share you favorite high-energy (or not so high energy) feel-good songs!

EDIT: Does a new playlist violate the "nothing new on race day" rule?

 

[jennamfeo]

I have had the same un-updated playlist for a LONG time. Like years. Mainly because I am lazy and also because I just don't know what I like to run to. So now, especially to help me run slower, I listen to podcasts on my runs. And I never listen to music during races. I don't know why, I just don't.
ANYWAY. Long segue to this:
This band is my child's namesake. The song has the word running in it. It always hypes me up.
Anberlin - "Readyfuels"

 

[SarahDisney]

I have had the same un-updated playlist for a LONG time. Like years. Mainly because I am lazy and also because I just don't know what I like to run to. So now, especially to help me run slower, I listen to podcasts on my runs. And I never listen to music during races. I don't know why, I just don't.

I just updated my playlist over the summer, but it's a little focus on angrier music, so it's not great as a pick me up. Before that I had had the same playlist for like 2 years.
I get not using music during races. I keep my music super low during races, so I don't always hear it, but I like having it for the "down" periods.

ANYWAY. Long segue to this:
This band is my child's namesake. The song has the word running in it. It always hypes me up.
Anberlin - "Readyfuels"

I've never heard this song before, but I like it. It is officially on the new playlist now!
Also ... I like that your kid's namesake is a band. My name has a song associated with it, but I came first (that's actually not true ... the song came first, but just barely, and that's not where my name came from).

 

[SarahDisney]

I'm cycling between excited and freaked out. I don't know that I've ever been like this for a race before (maybe my first Disney race, I don't remember).

 

[DopeyBadger]

I'm cycling between excited and freaked out. I don't know that I've ever been like this for a race before (maybe my first Disney race, I don't remember).

 

[SarahDisney]

Add in a few (because work) and that's pretty much exactly what I look like right now.

 

[PCFriar80]

I have had the same un-updated playlist for a LONG time. Like years. Mainly because I am lazy and also because I just don't know what I like to run to. So now, especially to help me run slower, I listen to podcasts on my runs. And I never listen to music during races. I don't know why, I just don't.
ANYWAY. Long segue to this:
This band is my child's namesake. The song has the word running in it. It always hypes me up.
Anberlin - "Readyfuels"

"Don't stop me Now"....Queen.

And there's still some hope for the Rangers?

 

[SarahDisney]

"Don't stop me Now"....Queen.

Excellent song choice. It is officially added to the playlist!

And there's still some hope for the Rangers?

I'm trying not to get my hopes up. I'd rather expect nothing and be pleasantly surprised than hope for the playoffs and be disappointed.
Also ... I couldn't watch the game against the Bolts last week because I didn't know who was on which team. (MacDonough being traded didn't surprise me. The JT Miller thing I wasn't expecting. And he had a hat trick this week...)