Take one for the team... Volunteer!

I watched the SEC Championship last night.

In case you are wondering... I only have one thing to say.

Go Gators! ... that is all.

But I do have something else to say about yesterday. I volunteered for the first time during a race. It was the 26th annual Ed Root 10K/5k race here in New Smyrna Beach. It was the first 10k race I ever ran last year and I really wanted to run it again this year. However, in an effort to "take it easy" with the Achilles tendon recovery I decided the best way to ensure I don't run it is to give back and volunteer. After reading a post by Redhead Running several months back about her experience volunteering at a race it's been on my mind. This was the perfect opportunity.

I contacted the race director a few days prior and despite the late notice she was more than happy to accept my offer to volunteer. So I showed up at 6:45 a.m. eager to work. They let me help pass out T-shirts at registration and then work as a time person at mile 4. I had expected to be put to work handing out water at an aid station, but was giving a stop watch instead. We started our stop watches at the sound of the start horn and then drove to Mile 4. It wasn't long before the leaders showed up as mile 4 and mile 2 intersected. When they returned to really hit the mile 4 mark I not only yelled out their times to them, but also their respective places and their time behind the leader. This got rather complicated rather quickly and I had to stop and settle for only the race time after about the 20th person from the leader passed (I got confused).

Over all I was so happy to help out with whatever they asked me to do. During the last year I've run numerous races and it was really nice to give back a little as so many races would not happen without the support of volunteers. It was also fun to yell out the time to a handful of friends that happened to be running the race.

The weather was sub-par with some relentless light to moderate rain. The temperature would have been perfect without the cold rain at around 55 degrees. Kudos to all those that participated and hashed it out in the rain. I heard a lot of soggy shoes slosh past me.

If your injured, or recovering from an injury I highly recommend volunteering at a race. It keeps you feeling like you're in the running community, keeps you motivated to recover and get back in the game and is a good overall experience!