Saturday
Shortly after hobbling through the LA Marathon, I emailed the race director Molly that I would be available to volunteer at her race. We bounced emails back and forth until it was race time. She wanted me to be at the parking lot next to the starting area by 5:15am. So I left the house at around 4:30am and got to Crystal Cove State Park just a little after 5am, but I pulled into the wrong parking lot. After calling her to get directions, I made my way through the guard gate, got my parking pass, and parked in the correct parking lot where there was a lot of runners milling around. At the suggestion of the RD, I brought a folding chair with me. She assigned me and two other guys at the Slow and Easy aid station. It was about the miles 5 and 20 for the 50k course, around mile 10 for the 25k. We gathered our stuff and got a ride from a ranger in his truck to our spot.
After we set up the aid station, we sat around and waited for the runners to show up. These two guys were ultra guys, so it was fun hanging out with them and talking about all of the 100 milers that they have lined up. Later we would be joined by a CB radio guy and an EMS girl. The day started off a little chilly with a thick marine layer. But then once that burned off, it started cooking. I'm glad I brought my plastic folding chair as a few of the runners were affected by the heat and needed a place to sit down. We refilled a lot of water bottles and hydration packs. We eventually had to request for ice to be delivered to our aid station and some more water. Most runners were skipping the food and just taking in salt and liquids.
Slow and Easy aid station
Michelle Barton
1st OA
3rd OA
During periods where the runners were few and far between, I walked around and even tried to jog a little, but the left ankle and calf was really in bad shape. It just could not handle the impact. I was very glad that I erred on the side of caution and did not sign up for any more races in the month on May. A month off was just what I needed to give me a chance to make it through the races that I have for the rest of the year.
After the sweeper came through with the final runners, we were given the go ahead to pack up. The ranger that came to pick us up commented that we were the only aid station that didn't have a pop-up tent to shade us from the sun. I guess that's why my arms were a little sunburned. Then the 5 of us packed into his truck for the ride back to the starting area. It was a very tight squeeze, but I guess it beats walking 5 miles. We were promised some burgers after we were done, but there was none in sight by the time we got there. The exhausted RD thanked us for our service and gave us three an Oakley tote bag. It was a nice gift, but I would've gladly done it for free and I'm sure it was the same with my aid station buddies. I hope in the near future that I would come back as a runner. It looked like a nice trail to do some running. Since I was pretty hungry, I drove straight to my favorite ramen shop (I'm sure you know which one by now) to have a bowl. :)
If I had a nickel for every time that I've been called Emily... :)
No comments:
Post a Comment