This past weekend I volunteered at the registration/check in for the Corn Maze Craze 5k with Northwest Trail Runs. I’ve also volunteered with them at other races also running aid stations, as well as with Evergreen Trail Runs as well. It’s always been a fun experience for me so I wanted to share some of that feeling and hopefully encourage you all to get out and volunteer as well.
Getting out and helping
We all love going out to races, seeing our friends, pushing ourselves, and just having a good time. Volunteering is incredibly rewarding as you get to be one of the people who help makes the whole event work. I’ve gained a great appreciation for everyone who is out helping making the race work. It’s also a great way to meet the organizers of your favorite events, as I’ve gotten to know more of the Northwest Trail Runs regular staff over time. This also makes each race more fun to show up to, as you have that extra connection with the people who have put the energy into organizing the events.
Aid Stations
Working an aid station can be an extra level of enjoyment if you have the time. Most runners are very appreciative that you’re out there and you get to see everyone out there having a good time (or at least suffering to achieve a personal goal). I’ve done aid stations that are on the edge of neighborhoods, ones that are a hike in from the starting line, and even one where I drove a decent ways out on access roads.
The neighborhood one was nice, as I had my oldest child Nathan helping me out. He was only three at the time, so we split between being focused on his “super important job” of filling up water cups and deciding to try to chase runners that went by (I made sure he didn’t run into a group and potentially trip someone). He eventually tuckered out and my spouse Katie picked him up (a nice aspect of being next to a neighborhood), and then I was able to relax and keep the water and snacks coming.
Hiking out to run an aid station (although it was a short hike), was fun just because I enjoyed the work of physically hauling in all the gear. We were set up at an intersection between trails and the course had a figure 8 route to it, so we got to see the runners multiple times to cheer them on. There was also the occasional crossing guard duty to prevent collisions since a lot of runners weren’t always aware they were crossing another trail. This race had multiple distances including a 50k, so it was a nice calm day spent in the woods (I brought a book with me for when the shorter distances were finished and the small number of 50k racers remained).
Driving out to a remote spot on Tiger Mountain was a really awesome experience. Everything was super quiet and peaceful (except when we decided to turn on the radio at times), and we were positioned in a spot that we surprised some runners when they came around a bend. This gave a lot of people a super relieved look since there were longer distances on this race as well. We also got to speak with a few mountain bikers who were using the access road to get between trails. So it was this cool feeling of both being remote and being part of an outdoors community.
Other Volunteering
Something I have not done, but I really need to, is to also get out and volunteer for a trail work party. The mountain biking community has done some great trail work and it really shows some places. There are a lot of hiking trails that could use some extra love, and I think as a trail user, I need to do my part to help out. If trail runners came together more to work on some of these trails like mountain bikers do, we could do some great work. Some organizations, such as WTA do put together trail work parties, but it would be awesome if I saw either a trail running organization step in and organize some or lead an effort to get the community involved in existing trail parties.
Have fun
Overall, volunteering is a great way to give back to the community. There is both a satisfaction of helping others enjoy their activities and the bond of being part of a community. I hope that you all take an opportunity to go volunteer, whether it be at a race, helping out on a trail, or something else in your community.