So registration opened last week for the 2011 Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k presented by MARTIN’S; the annual 6.2 mile race that takes place in Richmond, VA. As you may know the course starts on Broad Street near Harrison and finishes on Franklin St. at Monroe Park. You may know the 2010 race had over 37,000 registrants, making it the 4th largest 10k in the country and 26th largest race of any distance in the world. You may know a lot of things about the event that was founded in 2000 with only 2,462 participants and has since grown to become the signature road race in Richmond. What you may not know, however, is the behind-the-scenes, day-to-day planning that goes into the race that USA Today calls one of the best running races in the country.
From marketing to t-shirt designs and registration coordination to volunteer coordination, every detail of the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k is discussed and evaluated during the year-long planning process. As we continue this blog, we’ll discuss some of these lesser-known attributes of the 12th running of the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k presented by MARTIN’S. If there is something race-related you want to hear about, let us know.
It’s only appropriate to start with what, or who, we should say, is quite possibly the most critical, yet under-recognized element of the event: the volunteers. Over 2,000 volunteers are needed to make a race of this magnitude successful.
Saying this event wouldn’t be possible without the help of hundreds upon hundreds of gracious and willing volunteers would be the understatement of the century. The different roles our volunteers play range from helping out for a couple hours on race day to logging a handful of hours each week for months leading up to the event. Each role: extremely significant. The multitude of tasks gives any interested volunteer a chance to get involved with a commitment level with which they feel comfortable.
Perhaps the best way to write about the various volunteer positions is chronologically. The first volunteers, however, aren’t the people at the start line or even the expo volunteers working the Thursday and Friday leading up to race day. The volunteers that must first dedicate their time and effort to the 10k are on our race committee. The 10k race committee is comprised of about ¬¬¬45 individuals, each heading up a certain aspect of the race. These areas include, but are not limited to, water stops, awards, medical, t-shirt distribution, and elite athlete coordination. The committee members, many of whom have full-time jobs, dedicate many hours a week, every week for months leading up to the race.
Chronologically, the next group of volunteers helps out at the Anthem Health and Fitness Expo. The expo is where participants come pick up their race packets and event t-shirts, shop for race merchandise and check out the more than 50 health and fitness-related vendors in attendance. The race packets, t-shirts, and bibs are all given to the participants by volunteers. Some volunteers come for a couple hours, others work the entire time the expo is open – a total of 22 hours in two days.
Once the expo has opened and closed and 40,000 bibs, t-shirts and race packets have been handed out and race day has finally arrived, the first volunteers on race morning show up around 4:00 a.m. There are a number of different opportunities for race day including:
• Holding wave signs at the start of the race
• Acting as security at the start line ensuring that all participants are in the correct waves
• Helping out in the bag check area
• Assisting with the Virginia 529 Kids Run
• Passing out water and POWERade to runners and walkers on the course
• Delivering generators to bands and other entertainment groups on the course
• Signing up your band or musical group to perform along the course
• Competing in the Hirschler Fleischer Spirit Content to cheer on the runners
• Working in the post-race food area after the race
• Passing out water bottles at the finish line and congratulating finishers
• Working at the bag check area.
The last volunteers won’t leave the finish festival in Monroe Park until the final walker has crossed the finish line, been given their post-race food and water and the last bag has been picked up from bag check, usually around 3 p.m. Again, they may have been there all day or for just a few hours, but the importance of every role can’t be stated enough.
Obviously, we haven’t explored the details of every volunteer position associated with the event (that may be for a future blog entry), but it goes without saying that this event, like so many other great events in the Richmond region, is simply nothing without its volunteers. They come out year after year, rain or shine, for nothing more than a free t-shirt and the opportunity to help. So, as you are picking up your packet, lining up at the start, taking a cup of water, crossing the finish line, or grabbing a bagel and banana in Monroe Park, please take a moment to thank the volunteers that made it all possible.
For more information or to sign up to volunteer, please visit our website. You can also contact Mary Marshall Graeber, our volunteer coordinator, who will be more than happy to find the perfect fit for either groups or individuals interested in volunteering.
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