VOLUNTEER REVIEWS
What was your favorite part of volunteering for the Rivanna Greenbelt Marathon?
Cheering on the runners, being invested in their endeavor, and seeing their smiles. The opportunity to get to know other members and to cheer people on as they race. The people. Seeing the race up close and meeting new people. Very inspiring!! Well-organized, great group of volunteers and athletes. Giving back. Cheering on the runners and feeling like even a little bit of support helps them get through those many many miles. Got to volunteer with 2 friends so that made it extra fun! Saw some runners I know which is always exciting. Outside on a beautiful morning doing something for my community. Watching the runners, cheering them on and enjoying the camaraderie with fellow volunteers. Cheering on the runners and getting to learn more about the marathoners in the area. Talking with some of the other volunteers who had great advice on running marathons (I have my first marathon in November) Seeing what the event was like. The feeling of everyone working together for the benefit of the runners Encouraging the runners and getting to know other volunteers. My favorite part was meeting the other volunteers and working/playing together to support the brave impressive runners out there! The other awesome volunteers, and the appreciative, amazing runners. Meeting other runner volunteers It was really fun to cheer for the runners and encourage them! They all did a great job. It was also nice to talk to other volunteers and learn their race goals. Meeting new people and cheering! I really love being able to cheer for each and every runner by name. Also, all the volunteers are a really fun crew and dedicated to the running community. Just being part of the experience from the volunteer perspective. I also love watching the runners and supporting them. It's inspiring to watch such good runners. Watching the runner's especially the 2:30 person. Talking with other volunteers and cheering on runners. The whole signup process was smooth and information was shared clearly by the volunteer coordinator. Great work! The chance to really make a difference with putting out signs, and helping runners by alerting them to water hazard. Small but exciting group of runners. It was very inspirational to see people completing a marathon and breaking their PRs. Awesome people. Cheering for the runners!! Everything was very well organized! Calling out the runners names. The people, runners and volunteers. I enjoyed many of the other volunteers and heard lots of great running stories. The marathon runners were also very appreciative of the volunteers. Great volunteers to work with. Inspirational runners to support. Watching and helping the runners (and the race director). Not only do I like giving back to the running community, by supporting the participants and event organizers. But, I really enjoy spending time with other volunteers, and sharing our common interest. There is generally a very positive, humor filled atmosphere at running events. Also, it's inspirational to watch the speedy runners! Meeting the other volunteers and hearing their running experiences. My favorite part was watching the runner's finish. Helping the runners and the sunrise. I enjoy the company of other runners who volunteer. I enjoy talking about our shared experiences. I also enjoy watching and supporting those running the race. I know what it takes to run a marathon, and I'm always impressed by those who take up the challenge, both the fast runners and the slow runners. Watching the elite athletes complete the race. Everyone being so nice and wanting to make it a good experience for the runners. Excellent group of people to work with and very organized for the first one. I enjoyed being surrounded by positive people who were fun to volunteer with. I was inspired by the runners. I enjoyed seeing the runners come by multiple times. :) But I also liked talking to the other volunteers, who all seemed to be runners as well. Knowing the runner's names after a lap. I don't volunteer enough, but I really do enjoy doing it. I want to give back to Mark, who has supported me and made me love the sport. I want to give back to a community of runners who inspire me, support me, and encourage running in the community. Charlottesville really is a running town! How satisfied were you with the event? Did it meet your expectations? Well done, it was good to feel that the volunteers' efforts were appraciated by the runners and organizer. Overall very nice job and excellent experience as a volunteer. From my end, at the 2-mile mark, everything went very well. I think it was very well run and made me want to consider running it at some point. Well organized. Clear instructions. It was a very well organized event. Appreciated the frequent communication and very clear instructions. No issues with anything. Everything went well. Enough said. I liked that the runner's where able to pass by the water table and inform us whether they wanted gatorade, water or both on they way back. Suggestions for future races A little on the dark side. and felt bad that we couldn't do anything about the really large puddles and muddy patches-- probably not great for someone trying to PR or when seconds could count for Boston. maybe next time if it had rained a bunch the night before, we could bring some gravel or some large wooden flat boards like at Lowes to put over the puddle or at least over the muddy grass to help with footing. There were definitely enough volunteers for the number of people running. In a pinch it would certainly work with just 2 people timing, 1 or 2 on water and a floater/back-up person for each turn-around. Assignments and rewards were fine. Maybe free coffee? ;) Walkie-talkies at start/finish, 2mi, and 25.1 would really help communication. It's really dicey relying on texts and cellphones between strangers. I always have some basic first aid supplies on me, but it would be nice to have a dedicated first aid kit prominently located to help clean up blisters and scrapes. A designated volunteer coordinator who knows all the jobs, and can check people in, answer questions, and be a floater might be helpful. Overall, this has been one of my favorite race volunteer experiences ever! Only suggestion I have is that it might be good to have a bicyclist on the trail who can be on the look-out for any runners in distress. Would be good to have the cyclist carry water too. Also would be good to have some emergency water at the 25.1 turnaround. |