The Chicago Marathon
Yesterday was so much fun! I volunteered at the first water station (at mile 1.5) for the Chicago Marathon. Besides the fact that I had to be there by 6am to check in, meaning that I needed to take the first 55 bus of the day- 5:08, everything was awesome! It definitely want to volunteer at another marathon if I get the chance. I was surprised to get there to find about 150 other volunteers at my station. We were all given orange windbreakers and hats and then set out to work setting up the tables lining the sidewalk and filling up cups halfway with water or gatorade. It was kindof a meticulous job. First, you placed the cups on the table so that each one was at close to the other as possible, then, once you had filled the entire table you put a piece of thick paper over that layer and start another right on top. It was essential to do this very precisely, otherwise the whole table and all 500+ cups of liquid would crash to the ground (apparently, this had happened last year with a strong wind gust). After three tiers you stopped.
Initially, I worked at the very last water table helping to set it up. These 30yearolds who were absolutely hilarious to work with adopted me into their table because I was alone and couldn't find the person I was going to meet up with. They were from a suburb out by OHare and all of them seemed to have been friends for a long time. If they weren't running the marathon that year they would always volunteer, as they were doing yeserday. By 7:00am we had set up our table perfectly (I thought) and then had an hour until the race started. At about 7:45 I finally met up with the person who I couldn't find, and moved over to her table--the very first table the runners encountered--to help pass out cups of gatorade.
The 1.5 mark was the perfect place to volunteer at. First of all, it was right in front of Marshall Fields on State Street. Lining the street were Cubs Flags on top of the building and logos in the windows. And about 200 feet from my table, looking north to where the runners were going to coem from was the CHICAGO sign all lit up. It was absolutely the best place to take pictures of the race!
The wheelchair racers came by first at a very fast pace, then, a minute later cops and a newsvehicle, followed by the elite runners--mostly all from Kenya. I snapped a couple of shots as they sprinted (it seemed) past me at an incredible pace--they reached the 1.5 mile mark in about 8 minutes from the start line! A few seconds later another pack of about 30 runners, still part of the elite, came racing by. More runners followed and I quickly put away my camera and picked up some cups to hold out.
The pack of runners became denser and denser. All I seemed to see was a million hands reaching out for cups. There were so many people it seemed hard to even run in that sort of crowd and I was wondering how they could even move. At one point, a lady fell down in front of me, but a little ways out into the street. It was such a sudden stop that the people behind her accidentally stepped on her, and the crowd of people around her crashed into each other. It seemed as though all of us volunteers leaned over as if to go out and help her up, but there was nothing we could do, and we couldn't even reach her. Luckily, she wasn't hurt and after a few long seconds she got up and continued to run. We continued to hand out cups, and after only a minute or two, our three-tiered table was empty so we grabbed more from the table nextdoor. Everything went so fast, and it was over in only about 20 minutes (for us at the beginning of the block...at the end other volunteers in bright orange were still handing out water).
What surprised me the most was how incredibly nice and appreciative the runners were. Almost all gave a smile and a Thank You! in the few seconds that they swept by, and many gave a "I really appreciate all of your help!" It was just amazing to me how courteous people could be even in the midst of running 26.2 miles!
This is so sad: "Runner, 29, dies after marathon: Ohio woman collapses 100 feet past the finish line". I was at the 25th mile when this happened and saw the ambulance pass right next to me on 35th, then cutting through the dense running crowd and head over towards the finish line, but I had no idea it would be this bad. :o(
I ended up cheering people on at the 12th mile after my volunteer duties were done. And then I took the red line to the 25th mile. It was madness! 100 times worse than rush hour on the El. The first train we couldn't even get on and about 50 of us had to wait for the second one, which was right behind it. People were squeezed into each car as tight as could be. Once we got on the El we talked to some shocked passengers who had no idea what was going on and were just on their way to do lazy Sunday errands. Because the train was barely moving at all and everyone was super late getting to where they wanted to be, we deciced to get off at Chinatown instead of Sox/35th. Once off the train, it took us over 5 minutes just to get off the platform and down to the street. You could tell that the CTA workers were a bit annoyed at the crowds.
The 25th mile was interesting to watch. You could see the joy in some runners eyes, and the sadness and pain in others. Most were running/jogging, but some were also walking. The crowd around me was so supportive and you could see the improvement in some of the runners once we cheered them on. That was a nice thing to see.
Watching the marathon the question came to me: Would I do that? Could I do that? I think that the answer is yes, if I trained enough. Someday I would like to run the Portland Marathon. But for me I think that I would rather set my sights on hiking a couple hundred miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, or something of that nature. The flatness, the infrastructure, the concrete...Chicago just doesn't suit me. I'd rather look to the mountains, or to the ocean.
ps. Want to know My favorite runner of all?: Hanselman, Paul III, Chicago, 04:30:38, 18426
:o)
Yesterday was so much fun! I volunteered at the first water station (at mile 1.5) for the Chicago Marathon. Besides the fact that I had to be there by 6am to check in, meaning that I needed to take the first 55 bus of the day- 5:08, everything was awesome! It definitely want to volunteer at another marathon if I get the chance. I was surprised to get there to find about 150 other volunteers at my station. We were all given orange windbreakers and hats and then set out to work setting up the tables lining the sidewalk and filling up cups halfway with water or gatorade. It was kindof a meticulous job. First, you placed the cups on the table so that each one was at close to the other as possible, then, once you had filled the entire table you put a piece of thick paper over that layer and start another right on top. It was essential to do this very precisely, otherwise the whole table and all 500+ cups of liquid would crash to the ground (apparently, this had happened last year with a strong wind gust). After three tiers you stopped.
Initially, I worked at the very last water table helping to set it up. These 30yearolds who were absolutely hilarious to work with adopted me into their table because I was alone and couldn't find the person I was going to meet up with. They were from a suburb out by OHare and all of them seemed to have been friends for a long time. If they weren't running the marathon that year they would always volunteer, as they were doing yeserday. By 7:00am we had set up our table perfectly (I thought) and then had an hour until the race started. At about 7:45 I finally met up with the person who I couldn't find, and moved over to her table--the very first table the runners encountered--to help pass out cups of gatorade.
The 1.5 mark was the perfect place to volunteer at. First of all, it was right in front of Marshall Fields on State Street. Lining the street were Cubs Flags on top of the building and logos in the windows. And about 200 feet from my table, looking north to where the runners were going to coem from was the CHICAGO sign all lit up. It was absolutely the best place to take pictures of the race!
The wheelchair racers came by first at a very fast pace, then, a minute later cops and a newsvehicle, followed by the elite runners--mostly all from Kenya. I snapped a couple of shots as they sprinted (it seemed) past me at an incredible pace--they reached the 1.5 mile mark in about 8 minutes from the start line! A few seconds later another pack of about 30 runners, still part of the elite, came racing by. More runners followed and I quickly put away my camera and picked up some cups to hold out.
The pack of runners became denser and denser. All I seemed to see was a million hands reaching out for cups. There were so many people it seemed hard to even run in that sort of crowd and I was wondering how they could even move. At one point, a lady fell down in front of me, but a little ways out into the street. It was such a sudden stop that the people behind her accidentally stepped on her, and the crowd of people around her crashed into each other. It seemed as though all of us volunteers leaned over as if to go out and help her up, but there was nothing we could do, and we couldn't even reach her. Luckily, she wasn't hurt and after a few long seconds she got up and continued to run. We continued to hand out cups, and after only a minute or two, our three-tiered table was empty so we grabbed more from the table nextdoor. Everything went so fast, and it was over in only about 20 minutes (for us at the beginning of the block...at the end other volunteers in bright orange were still handing out water).
What surprised me the most was how incredibly nice and appreciative the runners were. Almost all gave a smile and a Thank You! in the few seconds that they swept by, and many gave a "I really appreciate all of your help!" It was just amazing to me how courteous people could be even in the midst of running 26.2 miles!
This is so sad: "Runner, 29, dies after marathon: Ohio woman collapses 100 feet past the finish line". I was at the 25th mile when this happened and saw the ambulance pass right next to me on 35th, then cutting through the dense running crowd and head over towards the finish line, but I had no idea it would be this bad. :o(
I ended up cheering people on at the 12th mile after my volunteer duties were done. And then I took the red line to the 25th mile. It was madness! 100 times worse than rush hour on the El. The first train we couldn't even get on and about 50 of us had to wait for the second one, which was right behind it. People were squeezed into each car as tight as could be. Once we got on the El we talked to some shocked passengers who had no idea what was going on and were just on their way to do lazy Sunday errands. Because the train was barely moving at all and everyone was super late getting to where they wanted to be, we deciced to get off at Chinatown instead of Sox/35th. Once off the train, it took us over 5 minutes just to get off the platform and down to the street. You could tell that the CTA workers were a bit annoyed at the crowds.
The 25th mile was interesting to watch. You could see the joy in some runners eyes, and the sadness and pain in others. Most were running/jogging, but some were also walking. The crowd around me was so supportive and you could see the improvement in some of the runners once we cheered them on. That was a nice thing to see.
Watching the marathon the question came to me: Would I do that? Could I do that? I think that the answer is yes, if I trained enough. Someday I would like to run the Portland Marathon. But for me I think that I would rather set my sights on hiking a couple hundred miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, or something of that nature. The flatness, the infrastructure, the concrete...Chicago just doesn't suit me. I'd rather look to the mountains, or to the ocean.
ps. Want to know My favorite runner of all?: Hanselman, Paul III, Chicago, 04:30:38, 18426
:o)
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