The Down To Run endurance race is a fairly new endurance and tail race in Martin county Florida. I found out that it's been around for only four years but in that time it has grown and developed a devoted following. I was so excited that I could hardly sleep. I should have been less excited because I had to get up at 3:45am in order to make sure I got there in enough time.
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| All the volunteers |
As soon as I arrived I dove right in to whatever tasks I could get my hands on. I cut oranges, stuffed the goodie bags and helped out with race day packet pick-up.
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| Goodie bags |
The race has four distances; a 5k, 10k, half marathon and 50k.
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| Course markers |
A couple of people from my running club were there and said that the course (though challenging) was amazing. We're all so used to running on the road that running on a trail is a nice change.
Let me share some of the pictures that I took.
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| Setting up the food for the runners. |
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| Mmmmm.... bagels and coffe. |
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| Champagne for the winners. |
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| A mom and her son approaching the finish line. |
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| The end of the course, rounding to the finish line. |
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| Fresh coconut water was served to the finishers. |
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| The finisher medals. Different color ribbons for the different distances. |
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| Nice day! |
The day was a blast! Once the packet pick-up was over I had some down time (hence the picture taking) and I found a spot towards the end of the course and cheered people on. I stayed until I could see the top three male and female runners for the 50k cross the finish line. The guy that was in second place collapsed as soon as he crossed the finish line. He was pale and very weak but somehow still wanted to walk by himself after he was carried to a chair to get some medical attention. The second place female runner is fourteen years old and crossed the finish line at 4 hours and 54 minutes. You could tell she has such a passion for running and was glowing when it was all over.
I didn't get a chance to see a runner who was given a special medal. This guy has participated in every race since the beginning and has done every distance. Yesterday he was doing the 50k. Not only has he been a repeat runner to these races but he's also managed to lose 60 pounds in the process. The story that the announcer told was so touching and inspiring. I wanted to see him finish but was so tired that I couldn't wait any longer.
I stayed for a total of seven hours. The day was long to say the least. Fortunately for everyone the heat didn't really start kicking in until 10am, which was surprising considering the weather we've been having lately. DTR has a moonlight 10k run in August that I think I want to do. As far as my first volunteering experience it was a total success. There were a couple of runners who complimented us on how helpful and nice we were. I will most definitely be looking to volunteer again at DTR and any other race that I can lend a helping hand to.
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