Because of the fact that what I do everyday seems a lot like volunteer work in it's own way, I very rarely volunteer my time for the good of others. Time is a precious thing and doing things for yourself helps to preserve one's sanity, but helping others can be totally fulfilling too...even when you have to wake up at 4 a.m. to do it. And sometimes you even get a free shirt out of the deal.
Today was the Running of the Bulls and it seemed like the perfect time to volunteer for race work. It's sort of an understood agreement in the running world that if you run races, you also volunteer at a few races... spreading the love. Running in a race is actually a very selfish act: usually only concerning yourself with matters of your eating, your bathrooming, your race pace, your clothing choice, your shoe choice, your temperature, etc...It's rare to stop and think about the amazing people who volunteer their own personal free time to plan the race, set up the race, manage packet pick-up, work aid stations, cut up fruit, direct the course, and a bunch of other jobs specifically tailored to ensure that YOU have a great race.
I had a surprisingly fantastic time manning packet pick up last night and this morning.
Here is the race day packet pick up dream team from today:
And all done before 9 a.m.
