On Volunteering for an Event

This past weekend, I was given the opportunity to volunteer for the White Lake Half Triathlon in exchange for a race entry into the White Lake Sprint the following day through a local triathlon club.   This was truly not a deal for me since the scheduling required me to pay for both a wet suit and a babysitter which made the cost a lot more expensive than paying full cost for the triathlon after my children were finished with their spring sports.  Despite the swap not being a good financial deal, volunteering for a race was an amazing experience.

A van dropped me off on a corner in the middle of nowhere on the bike course around 9:30 am and I was a little anxious about spending the allotted seven hours there.  Armed with a sandwich, two large bottles of water and some protein bars, I felt prepared for everything except boredom.  As I boarded the van with other volunteers I was thinking that maybe I should have brought a fully charged Kindle to keep me entertained.  It turns out that my corner was near the beginning of the bike course and by 11:30 am all the bikers had passed us.

Shortly after the last biker passed, the volunteer van came by and picked me up.  We rode through the rest of the 56 mile bike course picking up volunteers, cleaning up water stations, and even picking up a triathlete that dropped out.   It was fun to talk with other volunteers and their reasons for being there.  Some of them had family members competing in the race, one lady was volunteering as a way to keep participating as she recovered from injury, and there was a college tri club that had volunteered as a group.  As we road, we checked out several of the athletes that had stood out to us as we were at our stations.  The ones that had refused water and others that we were concerned about whether or not they were in shape to go the entire distance.

Once we arrived back at the race site, I was asked to help work the finish line.  I really lucked out being placed at the finish line.  When I'm doing a triathlon myself, I don't have the opportunity to see the winner cross the line (or any of the many, many others who come in in front of me) and I'm usually off recovering somewhere when the people behind me come in.  It was very nice to see the first and last people and every one in between come in at this race.

I don't know if it is because the distance was so long, or if it's always like this but watching the emotion of the finish line was an experience I won't forget.  I'm not sure I've ever seen a set of pictures capture it but someone who is a photographer certainly should go to a race and focus only on the emotion of the finish line.

Some memorable moments that I wish I could share with you:

1. The men that came across the line with a kid hanging on each arm.
2. The woman who finished the entire half iron distance after wrecking her bike with road rash covering her back.
3. The many sets of women who stopped before they crossed the finish line and gave each other a big hug.
4. All the people who came across the line holding hands.
5. The coaches who ran across the line with the every day athletes they were training.
6. The man who came back to the finish line to hug the volunteer that had helped him stay on his feet.
7. The woman who was visibly upset and worried when there was no sign of her husband long after she expected him to cross the finish line.
8. All the teams waiting at the finish line to greet the teammates they'd trained so hard with.
9. The spouses that greeted the finishers with admiration and support.
10.  All the cheers and high fives of congratulations.

At one point, someone turned to the college volunteers at the finish line and said "If you think you are ever too out of shape or too heavy to do a triathlon. Don't! Look at all of these people who are finishing the race."  It wasn't an insult. It was a comment of admiration for these people.  It is truly amazing what these people accomplished.

Some people think I'm nuts but I think I want to volunteer again.  Just to volunteer.  Maybe there will be a time this summer when I can do that.