My Volunteer Report from the National Marathon

One of the coolest aspects of running I enjoy the most is how the motivation to run can appear in the most unlikeliest of places and in the most unexpected of ways. Whether it is a billboard next to a highway advertising a getaway trip to a destination that just happens to be the location of your next marathon or a voice mail from a long lost distant friend who just wants you to know that she's running a race to raise money for pediatric cancer, it is funny how life always finds a way to inspire us to be good runners even when we're not so actively looking...

I went to D.C. this weekend hoping to run some miles in our nation's capital, but not expecting to find any logical answers to the questions that have been plaguing me for the past couple of weeks. If you recall (you can read here if you don't), I'd been having a difficult time recently trying to juggle an increase in my patient responsibilities and an appropriate mileage/time for marathon training. I still hadn't as yet figured anything out when I boarded the megabus for my four hour journey down to D.C. early Friday morning. All I knew was that I was extremely tired (I had only three hours of sleep the night before), I would be meeting a close virtual friend and I had a job to do...

Six short hours later, I found myself at the entrance to the Armory next to RFK stadium in Washington D.C. not quite knowing what to expect. The National Marathon Expo was in full force and I was there to volunteer. I was excited, not only because I was surrounded by the special segment of the population that not only understands my passion for running but shares in its celebration and revels in the training, but also because I was finally meeting my friend Dorothy face-to-face for the first time. If you must know, Dorothy, the author of her own blog Mile Posts, is an incredible woman who wear many many hats. Not only is she a wife, a mom to two beautiful children, she's also the Volunteer Coordinator for the National Marathon this year and one of the Saucony Team Captains. And as if that's not enough, she's also an avid runner who is seriously fast, and getting faster all the time. Case in point: She won the B&A Trail Marathon a few weeks ago down in Virginia. Yeah, you read right...WON, as in First Female Finisher (read her story). How incredibly awesome, right? Now, we've been blog buddies for a long time, but we've never had occasion to meet. So when she mentioned that she was in desperate need of volunteers for National, I figured the least I could do was come down to D.C., meet her and help out putting on this great event...

Well, let me say this, if you told me D and I were best friends in a previous life, I would not disagree because even in this, our first meeting, we hit it off immediately and had immensely interesting conversations in between all the work that had to be done. For me personally, the next seven hours (plus the five on race day) were some of the most fun I've ever had. I played about five different roles and got to meet and interact with so many people, each with their unique story of how they came to register for their race (either half, full, or even as a relay-half marathon) that it's impossible NOT to be humbled by the experience and develop a deeper appreciation of the sport. The people I talked to ran the gamut from an insanely fast 2:45 marathoner who was shooting for a 1:17 finish in the half marathon in preparation for Boston to a veteran runner who was looking for this 95th official marathon finish. There was a mom who was running her first half-marathon because she lost her son the previous year to brain cancer and he'd been a finisher for five years straight and a college student who was running the race as an excuse to do something fun for Spring Break. I also talked with a coach who predicted I had the potential to run 2:40/2:45 for the marathon with the right training and a guy who was seriously worried he was not going to make the 6hr cutoff for the race. Collectively, each runner offered me a glimpse of the race from their individual perspective and made me realize that the digits on the clock isn't ultimately what really gives meaning to the running experience. it is the running experience that gives meaning to the digits on the clock. A time without a suitable story is like a book jacket without the book. In either case, it is empty and not worthwhile to own. The challenge then is to always find meaning in the work you're putting forth. Whether we're talking your day job or the mileage in training, the goal/achievement you're working hard at must be tangible and valuable to you. If it isn't, the digits won't mean very much and you'll be left to question why you bother spending the effort...

i departed D.C. a little more than 28 hours after I arrived dressed, in almost identical clothes. Internally though, I knew I left the national capital a better runner and a better person than when I arrived. I feel immensely more liberated and rejuvenated in knowing what exactly I must do to advance my work and my running. Thanks D for allowing me to volunteer and help out, and congratulations to all the runners who ran and finished this race! You all helped this volunteer immensely more than the help I was able to give back. Hopefully, next year, I'll run this course right along with you. Maybe...

Have any of you ever worked as a race volunteer? Have you ever learned anything about running while volunteering that you never learned anywhere else? Share your volunteer stories if you are so inclined. Have a great beginning of the work week!