If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.
~Booker
T. Washington
I have run quite a few races and am always grateful for the
volunteers. I hope over the years I have been able to express that gratitude,
through my huffing and puffing. It then only seems right that I return the good
deed.
Last year I volunteered for a short period of time at the
Javelina Jundred hosted by Aravaipa Running, one of the best running event hosts ever.. I loved it so much that I vowed to do it again and stay as
long as possible. This year I took my two teenagers with me and we had a great
time.
The Javelina Jundred is a 100 mile endurance trail run held
in McDowell Mountain Park, just east of Phoenix, Arizona. This year it was held November 12th
through the 13th. The Javelina Jundred is always held on the weekend
of the full moon closet to Halloween. It is a great big party with racers
dressing up in costume and the handmade awards reminiscent of Dia de los
Muertos. 
Volunteers arrive on Thursday to set up and are there
through clean up on Sunday. The kids and I arrived Friday just in time for
dinner and our first shift. We actually followed the PF Chang’s catering truck
into the park. The main aid station, Javelina Headquarters, slash food tent,
was well organized. I helped set up this tent last year and this year the improved
organization was stellar. They brought out shelves, a portable sink and
cleaning station, a refrigerator, and a stove! Yes a stove and fridge out on the desert.
We served the hungry runners white and brown rice with
cashew chicken and for the vegans a veggie rice noodle dish. It smelled
wonderful and by the number of people who came through the line two and three
times, it must have tasted great too. For dessert there were two flavors of
cake, cranberry cookies, and brownie bites. The volunteers can have dinner but
I was so full from lunch that I only had a small piece of cake.
After dinner the kids and I retired to our truck to sleep. We
had a 3:30 AM wakeup call for our next shift at the pack pickup table, for
those runners arriving at the last minute.
If you have run a race you know that most people do not
sleep well the night before. The anticipation, nerves, excitement, fear of
missing the alarm, all conspires to a restless night; this was no different for
me. I woke several times throughout the night. Around 2 AM people started
arriving, either volunteers or runners that drove in. I finally gave up and
rolled out of my sleeping bag at 3:15 AM, went to the restroom, brushed my
teeth, and washed my face.
The kids and I, along with another volunteer hung out at the
table and checked in runners until 6 AM when the runners were on their
way!
Now the kids and I had a long time until our next shift at
11 PM that night. So, my son went back to get a little more sleep, daughter to read,
and I grabbed homework. A few hours later we decided to go into Fountain Hills,
the closest town, and get a bite to eat and some much needed coffee. There is
always coffee at Javelina Headquarters, but I needed it in large quantities and
with liquid creamer… note to self, next year bring my cream.
We ventured in and found a great little bagel shop called JD’sBagel Cafe. I missed the cafe part and was prepared for just bagels, but it is really a deli. They
have pasta salads, breakfast foods, wraps, as well as bagels and coffee. The
service was great and I enjoyed my wrap and coffee.
After brunch we went back out to the camp site and just hung
out. I did more homework and helped some runners as they came through the aid
station. At about 3 PM I decided that I should try to take a nap. I crawled
into the back of our truck and curled up with my blankie. The kids were in the front
of the truck and we all eventually slipped off into dream land. I awoke to
darkening skies and the need to go to the restroom. After I returned, I tried
to sleep some more, knowing it was going to be a long night, but to no avail.
The kids and I got up and headed over to the Headquarters, grabbed
some pizza, and checked out the leaders’ board. It was really neat to see the
runners and the different laps they had completed. The race is run on a looping
trail; runners do six laps of 15.4 miles, alternating direction on each
completed lap, and then a shorter lap of 9 miles; so the race actually ends up
being 101.4 miles total. While we were eating dinner, Hal Koerner crossed the
finish line, to win, and set a new course record of 13:47:46; that is 8.16
miles per hour; 101.4 miles in less than 14 hours!!!
At 10:45 PM we could not stand it anymore and manned our
stations. We were once again at the food tent and what a spread there was! Not
only did they have the standard fare of gels, PB&J sandwiches, Gatorade,
and water; they also had noodle soup, veggie soup, hamburgers, Nutella
sandwiches, two other kinds of electrolyte drinks, and various assortments of
snacks. This is my kind of event!
The kids and I, along with a few other volunteers were on
duty from 11 PM Saturday night until 7 AM Sunday morning. During that time we
encouraged runners as they came in, refilled bottles and hydration packs, escorted
to medical if needed, filled cups with soup, made straight broth and anything
else that they needed. We hooted and hollered, clapped and whistled. The next
thing we knew it was getting light out.
I could not believe that I had made it through the night
without falling asleep. I was so energized from the runners and the other volunteers
that I think I could have stayed and continued working. However, we had to get
home so we could nap and then get homework and scholarship applications done. The
only thing I would change for next year is to get a shift in the middle of the
day somewhere. I felt useless and the time dragged on forever… or maybe I’ll go
for a hike.
After very little sleep two nights before and 32 hours awake,
the kids and I made it home, and my bed never felt so good. I felt a little
guilty as my head hit the pillow, knowing there were still runners and
volunteers out there.
If you ever get a chance to volunteer for a race do it.
If
you get the chance to volunteer for an ultra-race DO IT!
Everyone is amazing
and inspiring, nice and so very appreciative.
I am only one, but I am one.
I cannot do everything, but I
can do something.
And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can
do.
~Edward Everett Hale
