Journey 26.2: Our +1 Volunteering Experience

 One of the requirements for our 9+1 program to gain guaranteed entry into the NYC 2020 marathon is that we need to volunteer for one race – the “+1”.  It’s not easy for us to do early morning races in NYC since we live in CT so we were happy to find an afternoon race in Newport, NJ that had open volunteer slots.

On Saturday, May 4 we headed to the inaugural Fiesta run – and it was only then that we realized the “fiesta” was in celebration of Cinco de Mayo.  We had signed up for the 2:00 – 6:00 slot for the Rising New York Road Runners events, which is NYRR’s youth program that reaches almost 250,000 youth to propel them to expand their physical, emotional, and educational potential through running.

Despite the 1h15 projected driving time, we allowed for 2 hours in case we hit traffic, and it was a good thing we did because we arrived right on time for volunteer check in. Once we were within 1 mile from the event, we found free street parking and walked from there, which proved to be a good call as we walked past the traffic gridlock.  For once, it looked like we would not have rain for a NYRR event as Saturday afternoon was the only part of the weekend with sunny skies.

We donned our volunteer garb – a yellow vest and a volunteer visor – and received our orientation, which included special instructions for interacting with children.  When they asked for volunteers to work the 1400 meter course, I raised my hand thinking it would be fun to cheer the kids on.  Mike was slower to the party but made his way into the group as the last person in our 10 person crew.  We followed our NYRR leader to our assigned spots, and our duty was to direct people to the check in and start line, make sure the kids stayed on the course, and cheer them on.

Making friends with Dominique

We had about 45 minutes until the scheduled 3:30 start so we made friends with the crossing guard, Dominique.  She and we were touched by a young girl who came up to her and complimented her on her hat! We were told once the kids races finished, all we had to do was put the pilons on the sidewalk and then we could return our vest and check out.  We then realized we could probably run the 5:00pm 5K race and complete race #7 of our 9. A quick look on my phone and race registration was still available so with the click of the button, we were registered. 

A first:  Running a 5K in jeans!

At 3:30 the kids were off. First the 12-18 year olds in the competitive timed race, followed by the 8 – 18 year olds in the non-competitive race. We and the NYRR staff cheered the kids and encouraged those who were struggling.  It all happened so fast that we thought there was still another race to be done, but within 15 minutes after the start we were already moving the pilons. By 4:00 we had checked back into the volunteer station and we were done!

#7 of 9: The Fiesta 5K

We had an hour to get ready for our race.  Not having planned on running the 5K, we were a little ill prepared.  I probably should have gone and bought a pair of shorts, but I can say this is the first 5K race I ever ran in my jeans!  It wasn’t my fastest 5K at 28:19 (a 9:07 pace) but it wasn’t my slowest either – which was my first 5K, a NYRR race, when I was 33 years old and ran a 35:02 (a 10:45 pace).  Yup, 18 years later in less ideal running gear I can beat my younger self!

Fortunately for the youth who are part of the Rising New York Road Runners program, they won’t wait until they are 33 to run their first 5K.