Volunteering for the Ironman World Championships or How I Spent My Weekend - Page 2

With that in mind, we drank plenty of water, killing the time by getting our gear and wandering around the expo to collect schwag. Because Ironman Hawaii is the big kahuna of the Ironman races, the vendors and booths there are top notch meaning the schwag is amazing.

Race day was October 11th, a Saturday that dawned beautifully as I am sure all Hawaiian days do. We put on our volunteer shirts and were able to make our way to the end of the pier to watch the swim start. All around us, volunteers from other areas were working hard to get their areas ready. We were in the finish line crew.

After the cannon boomed to start the race, my wife and I watched the professionals athletes head out for the 2.4 mile swim. We then headed to our area to get started working. At first we hung up bags that the athletes had filled with their gear, then set up all the flags and plants at the actual finish line. At some point, the swim was finished and the athletes headed out for the 112 mile bike ride. We finished up our work and headed over to the burger bar for some lunch.

Since our part was done, we headed back to the hotel for a nap but we were back down at the finish line a few hours later for our next job, handing out the finisher’s medals. We were early for our shift by, oh, about four hours, but the excitement of the atmosphere had us wanting to contribute more.

Fortunately, they needed more help at the actual finish line, so instead of handing out medals, we became "catchers." A "catcher" works in a team of two. One puts a towel around the athlete’s neck after they cross the finish line and grabs their arm. The other catcher grabs the athlete’s other arm thereby preventing them from collapsing after completing the 26.2 mile run leg of the triathlon. The catchers then lead the athlete to the medals area to collect their bling.

This turned out to be the best thing that happened to us in our volunteer experience. Catching someone that had just spent all day and half the night covering 140.6 miles was both energizing and inspiring. We were exhausted and every time we got back in line to catch another athlete, we would say, assuredly, "Okay, it’s time to take a break," as soon as we catch the next one. But the next athlete would come and we’d be so pumped up from the experience that we’d jump right back in line.

The cutoff time to finish an Ironman race and have it be official is midnight, 17 hours after the race began. When the clock strikes 12, it’s over. Anyone that finishes after that doesn’t get a medal, doesn’t get the bling, and doesn’t get the results recorded, even if they finish in 17 hours and one second.

Article Author: Russ Evenhuis

I am a writer in a mid-life crisis. My passions are Seahawks football, triathlons, rugby, sports in general, Guinness, reading, writing, television, music, computers, family, and movies.

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