Race Volunteering

There was a query a little while ago about what the best race to volunteer for to fulfull the NYRR requirement.

Let me dodge the question, a little bit, while making the case for making sure you volunteer at a race this year - any race this year, or do some kind of volunteer work to support the local running community.

The one time I've volunteered at a NYRR race, and this was a while ago, there were numerous options, whether it's setting up the water tables, to calling out splits (though I'm not sure if this still happens) to helping keep the runners inside the running lanes (so Central Park doesn't get upset the racers). It's a few-hour commitment, one day a year.

But please, please, don't limit yourself to the NYRR races. The local races always need volunteers. Contact the Prospect Park Track Club (contact@pptc.org) to offer to help out at their 5-Mile Turkey Trot, now the Speed Series is almost over. Or check out the monthly calendar on this blog to see if there are local races at which you can help out.

In answer to the question: Does it matter which one you do? Is there a "best" one? I'd probably not wait until December, when a) it'll be cold - there's nothing worse standing a water table where the water has frozen and b) a ton of people will realize that they haven't volunteered yet, so will be showing up to help. So I'd pick one in the fall, where you can enjoy the weather and run in the park afterward. (Blog readers, feel free to chime in).