Towpath Marathon - One More Week of Crazy

When I first moved back to Cleveland, I picked up an interesting opportunity to work as the Volunteer Coordinator for the Towpath Marathon (after I had run the Towpath Ten-Ten and enjoyed working with the company).  I hadn't known at the time what other work I'd manage to find or how busy I'd be come marathon time, but wanted very much to dig deeper into what it takes to actually put on a big race event.

At first, there wasn't much to do.  Compile some email addresses, get familiar with the course, think about ways to incentivize volunteering...  It was an hour or two a week, at most, and it gave me plenty of freedom to work on building my fitness presence in the area while also picking up some more full-time work to pay the bills in the meanwhile.

Now, we're a week away from the race, and I'm up all night over and over again compiling volunteer information and making sure we have enough coverage!  There have been course route changes and unexpected dropouts and all the other confusion that of course comes with relying on volunteers - but somehow we're looking like we'll be ready next Sunday!  There are a few more pieces to fall into place, and next weekend I'll be working my butt off on-site, but the excitement is building as the chaos starts to take shape!

That being said, well...  There's still MUCH to be done, and that might mean this will be a slow week here on the blog.  Hopefully my Om Booty review will make it up on Wednesday, and since it's the last week to register for the Doggy Dasher virtual race (get 10% off with FITNYX10) I'll try to send out a few registration reminders, and maybe I'll even find some time on Friday or Saturday to share some pictures from the marathon expo...  But it's probably safe to assume that I'll be last-minute stressing to ensure that every last detail is in place for an AMAZING RACE!  So, catch ya on the flip side, and be sure to let me know if you want to come out and help on race day, I can guarantee I have a spot for any willing hands!

What inspires you to volunteer, either for race events or anything else to which you donate your time?  What's your favorite volunteering experience?