It was a cold and windy February day in Atlanta , Georgia in 2020, right before COVID took over the world. My husband and I had lived in Atlanta for two years and were members of the Atlanta Track Club. We enjoyed the opportunity to run different races throughout the city, appreciated the inclusiveness and participate in a sport that we loved.
Several months prior, we received the invite from the ATC to volunteer for the USA Olympic Marathon Trials on Saturday and the Atlanta Public Marathon on Sunday. We immediately said “YES!” and selected where we would course monitor. We picked mile marker 25. The thought was anyone that gets to this point is going to make it to the finish and some extra cheering can only help.
We both prepared like we normally would for any race (even though we were not racing).
Proper Gear-check, Cold weather attire-check, a couple of snacks & hydration-check, transportation to & from the race-check, prep meeting-check and reviewing the details of the race-check. We felt ready for the event.
When that Saturday morning arrived, we met our volunteer captain, received our gear and he walked us to our mile marker. We were struck with how joyful, happy and calm everyone was. We have a strong admiration for short, long and endurance runners. They demonstrate grit, determination and a strong sense of purpose.
The event was flawless. Our cheering section was small, but mighty. We recruited a few people to cheer with us and enjoyed telling the runners “You are almost at the end!”, “You are doing great!”, “What you are doing is amazing!” and when we knew the runner from what we read or heard on a podcast we made sure to mention their name. Who doesn’t like to hear their name?
In the four years that have passed, I still have fond memories of being a small part of history. I hope that those runners and volunteers participating in the Orlando event feel exactly the same way four years from now!