It's Pay Back Time!

It's about time I give back to the running community after years of taking!  This time last year, for the first time, I volunteered at the finish line handing out medals.  It was such a rewarding experience that I jumped at the opportunity to do it again this year.  

I showed up at the finish line at 5:40 am to start unpacking, unwrapping and hanging the thousands and thousands and thousands of medals.  For a split second and only a split second I wished I was running the marathon today, then I came to my senses!   After the medals were hung, I had a bit of time to head down to the start and watch the runners take off.  For a split second and only a split second I wished I was running the half-marathon today, then I came to my senses!

It didn't seem long before the 10km runners started to come across the finish line fast and furious!  Then it was the half-marathons and the 5kms folks.  It got pretty crazy at times with all three distances coming in at the same time and then on top of that, my favourite medals to hand out, the full marathon runners started to trickle in.   

It's always nice to meet people who follow my blog!  Here's a shout out to you Susan!  Thank you for being a follower and a big congratulations on your race!  I was honoured to present friends with their well deserved medals, especially Amin, this was his first marathon and he did amazing.  I was happy to hand out hugs too, along with medals.   One marathon finisher was so happy, once I put the medal around his neck, he picked me up off the ground and swung me around in the air!  That was my high for the day!

As time passed, the number of marathons dwindled as did the volunteers handing out medals.  I signed up to stay until the end today and presented the last medal to the final marathoner around 1:45 in the afternoon.   I have paid off a little more that I owe to the running community but no where near debt free!   I'll be back next year!