Volunteering for the Columbia Triathlon

I read many recaps and stories of others’ Iron Girl experiences before I did it myself last year but I figured that my sister wasn’t going to do that. So, my awesome plan was to get her to volunteer so that she could get a sense of the environment before race day on August 7th. The Columbia Tri is in the same location and put on by the same organization as the Iron Girl Columbia.

I thought it was probably best if we only signed up for body marking, because that would get her familiar with the first part of the day and then leave us to cheer on for a while before going home to nap. She seemed willing to come along until she found out that we had to be there at 4:30 AM but with a promise of a Tutti Frutti reward later in the day, she signed up to volunteer with me.

Sunday morning wake up call was at an exhausting 3:45 AM. I had to leave the house just after 4 to pick her up and be parked by 4:40. Once we had gotten our shirts and markers, we had a quick intro with the group leader and then waited around until transition opened at 5.

There was only a handful of athletes that had arrived at that point so we stood around for a while with just a few trickling past to get marked. It must have been around 5:45/6ish that EVERYONE showed up. Oh. My. Goodness. I’m not sure how many volunteers were body marking but there was at least 10 of us and there were lines everywhere. It was fun getting to interact with the athletes and chat about how freezing cold the air felt. There was a good handful of relay racers that I got to mark as well and everyone was very friendly. Time flew by, and before we knew it, the sun had risen and our shift was over.

We wandered over to the start area in time to hear the national anthem and we hung around to watch most of the athletes start. We walked back over towards the swim finish around the point that it looked like most people would start coming in and we spent over an hour cheering on the majority of people who came in from the swim. Towards the end of that time we got to see the first elites heading out onto the run course. We were both feeling pretty sleepy from only a few hours of sleep and starving because neither of us had eaten anything yet so we decided we’d watch the first finisher cross the line before heading off for breakfast.

Breakfast was a bagel and hot chocolate/smoothie for both of us at the Corner Bakery Cafe by Columbia Mall. It was just after 10 AM and I felt like a nap was necessary before driving home and the sun made the car feel warm and comfy so we both napped for about an hour before heading home.

We had a lot of fun and it was a great experience for both of us. It was particularly meaningful volunteering for an Ulman Cancer Fund Race considering that cancer has rearranged our family twice now. If you’ve only ever run and/or spectated for a race, consider volunteering because without the volunteers, there is no race. It’s an awesome thing to have supportive and enthusiastic volunteers when you’re feeling tired and it’s just as awesome to be the one giving the positive encouragement!

As for Hanna’s Tutti Frutti reward, she didn’t let me forget about it so I payed up and we had a froyo date in the afternoon after an Old Navy shopping trip.

To recap my triathlon journey, visit my Triathlon page.

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