This morning I volunteered at the Red Rock Marathon/Half-Marathon. It’s a beautiful course; very challenging, but beautiful nonetheless. If you ever visit Las Vegas, I highly recommend a trip to Red Rock Canyon. It gives you a whole other perspective on Las Vegas beyond the stereotype. And if you’re feeling particularly spunky (and haven’t indulged too much) go ahead and take a run there. The loop is hard but fun, and there are many trails in the park too. I had a lot of fun running the White Rock trail and have been thinking it would be fun to hit that one again sometime.
Anyway, the race this morning… it was cold and windy. The skies were perfectly clear today, but that’s misleading if you look out a window and think it’s a nice day. (Make sure to crane your neck a little to see how bad the trees are moving before deciding on your apparel for the day.) It was in the upper 30’s at race start and the winds were definitely a blowing, conditions I would have found uncomfortable as a runner; but I really found it harsh when I was supposed to just stand there at an aid station.
Our aid station was considered an “Ultra” aid station, so in addition to water and Hammer Heed, we had oranges, bananas, pretzels, animal crackers and Hammer Gels. Plus Vaseline, Bio-Freeze, band-aids and other assorted first-aid items. And porta potties… and while those weren’t exciting to us, the runners that needed them sure expressed their happiness at their presence.
But I had a great morning, it’s just nice to be part of the running community. It was interesting seeing how some of the runners just cruised past our aid station, some of them almost seemed angry in their focus as they took cups. But there were others that stopped, told stories about their adventures in marathons across the country. That totally inspired me. They obviously weren’t out there for a specific time, they just love the “experience” of the marathon. AWESOME!
And on a completely unrelated note… I just found out that I took 4th out of 24 in my division at last week’s 5K. I’m going to lie to myself and say that I totally would have been in the top 3 if I hadn’t been injured. Because there is no way to prove or disprove that theory I can tell this story. 😉
Have a great rest of your weekend!
Jill Will Run 
I’ve never volunteered at a race-I’ve cheered but never volunteered. I bet it would put a completely different perspective on races!!
Penny: I’ve always tried to thank the volunteers at the aid stations, but I know I’m not always the perkiest and friendliest person on the course after some distance. It was just interesting to see how different the runners’ attitudes were. But since I am a runner myself, I don’t judge them and think they’re rude if they don’t acknowledge me. I would hope the non-runner volunteers on a course don’t take anything personally!
I’ve never volunteered either, but Anne (at runDMZ) does all the time. So, I’m thinkin’ I will be soon (as I’m recovering from some injuries as well)
I’ll be in Vegas next weekend and while Red Rock Canyon probably won’t happen, I’ll definitely be bringing some cool-weather clothes to run in. I’m always surprised by how much cooler it is in Vegas this time of year than I anticipate it would be.
aka Alice: It’s been so weird here in Vegas lately too. One day it’s nice and warm, the next it is cold. And the wind cycles have been crazy too; blowing, calm, breeze, calm, hurricane winds, calm…
Are you racing while you’re here? There are a couple 5Ks around I know of…
glad you had a good time volunteering and congrats on 4th! (even if it should really be 3rd) 🙂
i hope i never look angry in a race – i’m just concentrating on grabbing the cup without spilling it on the volunteer or myself while continuing my forward motion! lol
Lindsay: Yeah, I’m usually worried about the spilling effect. I was very conscientious about not filling our cups too full because that always annoys me in races when I the cup is full to the top and I spill everywhere!