November 15, 2009 More runners means more problems for organizers On Sunday, while most of us are enjoying a nice day of leisure and a chance to kick back and take it easy, there are 30,000 runners in San Antonio running a half or full marathon. The runners come from every state in the United States and from 23 countries to take part in the Rock ‘N’ Roll San Antonio half and full marathons. It is hard to imagine having 30,000 runners pounding the streets and spending a Sunday running for anywhere from 3 hours to 5 hours or more. Some of us will be getting ready to eat lunch, and there will be runners still out there on the streets of San Antonio waiting to cross the finish line. There are a good number of local runners in the race for one or the other distance. If you are a “slower” runner (for example, a 4-hour marathon) it will probably take a good 30 minutes or more just to get to the starting line. I will try to find out the results for local and area runners entered in the race for next week. As a race director, it is hard to imagine the logistics of putting on a race of that magnitude. Everything just gets bigger and more complicated. Little things are now big items on the list of things that need to be done before the race. Most of our local races are between 100 and 300 runners, and with a few volunteers we can usually put on a pretty good race. When you multiply that number by 100 times, things change drastically. We held the ARA 20-Mile Run a few years back that was part of the Austin Distance Challenge. The race had almost 1,000 runners entered. When it came time to find volunteers for water stations, we usually can handle the runners coming by with three or four people at each station. With 1,000, you need about 10 people per station. Multiply that by six aid stations, and you find that you need about 45 more volunteers for water stations. Traffic control, finish-line duties, the award ceremony, etc. all require more volunteers. Instead of trying to recruit individuals for various volunteer help, you instead recruit groups of people; maybe employees from a store, a civic organization, Boy Scout or Girl Scout troops, Gary Job Corps, the Hays County Juvenile Center and so on. It was interesting to talk to the volunteers at the first aid station at two miles and at the four-mile mark. When the first runners came by, they were spaced out; and the task of handing out water to the speed burners was not that difficult. They were all smiling and thinking that this was not that tough a job. Then the “pack” arrived, and about 800 runners showed up at once. Drastic measures were needed to fill water cups and hand them to the runners. The idea of trying to fill a cup from the small spigot coming out of the 5-gallon cooler was just not going to get the job done. That is when the top came off, and cups were dipped into the top with both the right and left hands to keep up with the number of runners. It came down to a four-man job for one duty. One volunteer handed the cup or cups to the other person, and they would dip into the cooler for water and then hand it to another volunteer, who either placed it on the table or handed it to a volunteer who then handed it to a runner. A simple task now became a complicated job; and it takes a number of minutes for all 800 runners to pass the water station. The usually easy casual task now became a “put out the fire” pace for 15 minutes. I can understand how difficult it was for handling 1,000 runners, but trying the same task with 30,000 runners gets very hard to imagine. Instead of one or two tables, try 10 or more tables with volunteers at each one at every two miles. Volunteers can make or break a race; and if the race organizers are unable to get enough people to cover all of the stations, things get backed up and disorganized. Another problem is figuring out how much water do you need at each station; and if you get low, what person is responsible to get more water to that station. I have run a few marathons where, if you are near the end of the pack and have been out on the course for a longer time, the need for water is greater. When you approach a water station and they tell you that they are out of water, things get tough. Don’t forget the Thankful Turkey 5K next Saturday, November 21 out at River Ridge Park starting at 8:00 a.m. Let’s have a good turnout; but hopefully less than 30,000 runners. Dr. Maurice Johnson - better known around San Marcos as “Moe” - is a professor in the Department of Health, P.E., Recreation and Dance at Texas State University - San Marcos. Moe has been a fixture in the San Marcos running community - both as a runner and race organizer - since way back when Moby Dick was a minnow. His column on running and fitness appears each Sunday in the Sports section of the San Marcos Daily Record. • Recent “Running With Moe” Columns • Home • About the Club • Current News • Club Runs • Places To Run • TX Running Clubs • Running Links • Useful Stuff Upcoming Races • Race Results • Country Roads 10K & Kids Run • ARA-Moe’s Better Half Marathon • “Running With Moe” Contact Us!