Pumpkinman 2011 - Day Two: Volunteering

Pumpkinman Volunteer Report
September 11, 2011

From time to time Kat Donatello calls me with offers for incredible experiences at her races. A few years ago I got the invitation to race in the Elite wave. I accepted. I also got the call to serve as the lead bike for the first place male on the run. I accepted. Over the years Kat's offered me the opportunity to measure and mark the run course, do water safety in a kayak, set swim course buoys, and many other things. I accepted every time. I've enjoyed every single experience and look forward to this day, the day I volunteer at Pumpkinman, all year long. I've learned a great deal about how to run a successful race (or any venture, really) from Kat and Jeff by watching what they do, listening to what they say, and taking on any task they ask me to carry out. This year the call went differently than in the past, though. My mission, be Jeff for one day. Jeff had decided to race the half this year and that meant someone, or a collection of people, needed to make sure all of his duties were carried out successfully. Amazing opportunity - YES! Possibility for extraordinary levels of stress - YES! So what did I tell her - well, "YES!", of course! Without hesitation I knew this was something I wanted to do. I wanted to do it for Jeff so he could experience what a great race this is from an athlete's perspective. I wanted to do it for Kat for too many reasons to list. I wanted to do it for all of the athletes, because I understand exactly how hard they work to prepare for an event like this and I wanted everything to go perfectly for each and every one of them. Essentially, Kat didn't even need to ask whether or not I wanted to do it; as soon as the offer was on the table, I accepted.

Before I go any further, I need to mention how much work goes into organizing an event. Most people can probably look around at a race and think, "I bet this takes some planning." But I doubt many people think too far beyond that. The amount of work that a race director (especially Kat) puts into planning a race borders on unbelievable. I had a pretty decent idea of what went into things just from being around enough, but even my eyes were opened when we started planning for this day. The most basic version of my new job description was to set up the bike course (and the run course and on-course volunteer check-ins). Again, most people probably think, "how hard can it be? You know the course, just throw up some directional signs and wait for the race to start". That line of thinking could not be further from the reality of the situation. Weeks ago the phone calls, emails, texts, course drive throughs, course measurements, course remeasurements, rechecking the remeasurements with various devices, and checklist compilations began. Every single inch of today's course was discussed at one point or another.  Which sign goes where? What order do the signs go on each corner? What is the best position on the roadside for the sign on each segment of the course? How should the lane of cones look on each corner? Where should each volunteer stand for each corner? What happens if this volunteer doesn't show up? What happens if that volunteer doesn't show up? What happens if Kyle gets sick? What happens if Bob (who normally works with Jeff, but got me instead today!) gets sick? what happens if Kyle and Bob need to separate for some reason? should we take one car or two? (hint: always opt for two). Should we spray chalk arrows or put a sign on this segment? How about that segment? Does the cracked pavement on this road require highlighting? How about the pavement on the other road? What happens if there is fog? Seriously, I like to embellish to make stories better as much as the next guy, but none of this is an exaggeration. I swear, every possible scenario was covered. Every question was asked (and answered). The planning required to put on a top-notch event is unreal. And I was only experiencing one aspect of the organization. It still amazes me that the same thing goes on with every other facet of the race.

Okay, so what actually went on today. Well, first I learned a lesson. Good way to start the day, I suppose. Unfortunately, that lesson was that waking up at 3am is absolutely as terrible in real life as it sounds like it would be on paper. I thought getting up at 4:30 or 4:45 to race was bad. Never again will I underestimate the value of an hour and a half of sleep at that time of the morning (read: middle of the night, calling it morning is absurd. If it's going to remain dark for another 3.5 hours, it's still nighttime). By 3:50 I was at Spring Hill and ready go get moving. Eventually, Bob and I did just that. With his truck loaded with signs and my 5 page checklist of things to do, we set off to make this a flawless course. Fast forward a few hours. The course was marked really easily, so there's not much need for detail. Lesson number two: when you think everything through, and then discuss it with three other people who have done exactly the same thing you get a well thought out plan. Bob and I knew exactly what to do, where everything needed to be, and when it needed to be there. Course setting complete.

Feeling pretty good about finishing our first mission (though entirely stressed out as time seemed to be ticking WAY TOO FAST), I headed back to transition. There, Bob and I decided that separating was in the best interest of efficiency. Good thing this scenario had been gone over with Jeff ahead of time (see how I keep reinforcing previous lessons here, it means I work in a school...). He'd take the ice and food out to the volunteers and aid stations while I'd go back to drive the course again and check-in with every volunteer. Of all the things I did today, this was the most important. First, I had to make sure that all the volunteers had checked in and made it to their designated areas on the course. Fortunately, with only one exception, they had. No worries, Jeff and I had gone over this possibility (read: eventuality) too. Second, I had to make sure everyone was very clear on exactly what it is they were suppose to do. And finally, I needed to make sure nobody got killed. No pressure...

Things actually went really well. It shouldn't come as a surprise given all the planning by everyone involved, but I guess you go into this type of setting expecting the worst. Still, I was worried about the time. As fast as I was going - sorry to the police departments in Berwick, North Berwick, and South Berwick by the way - I was still worried that I wasn't going to get everything done in time to begin my regularly scheduled duty of lead bike for the first place male runner. I took a little comfort from the fact that I had a backup plan for this too, though. Craig, my new recruit for lead bike duty, could switch to the men's race and I could take the women's side if necessary. The run course mile markings still needed to be set and I seemed to be cutting it close despite the 45 minute delay. It was highly stressful. But looking back, I wasn't actually pressed for time at all. What I was doing was being exceptionally thorough given that I'd been granted some extra time. Long story short, everything got done and I was back with time to spare.

Actually, I'd even squeezed in some extra stuff - some very important extra stuff to tell the truth. On my way off the bike course and onto the run course I came across Andrew Clemence, one of the elite athletes on course today and a guy I've raced with in the past, on the side of the road with some volunteers. Fortunately he hadn't crashed. Things just hadn't worked out for him today and he needed to get back to Spring Hill. Not wanting him to have to wait for a vehicle to be sent out on course, I told him to jump in my car. I tossed his (really nice) bike on the back of my car and we took off. A quick call to Kat and within a few minutes I was dropping him off with the most capable race director out there. I felt bad his day had ended like it did, but was glad he'd made a wise decision to call it a day when he wasn't feeling well. No sense to push through something and threatening future starts.

Okay, with both courses now set up, volunteers out in full force keeping everyone safe, and Andrew back at Spring Hill, I was able to catch up with my brother for the first time of the morning. Like I mentioned, I'd recruited him to help out today. We went over a few last-minute details about the course and exactly what he was to do. Before I knew it, Mike Caiazzo was entering the transition area and it was time for my next task to begin. One last set of instructions for Craig - don't run anyone over, especially Karen Smyers (the women's race leader and most well-known and successful American triathlete. ever.). And then I was off. Not a whole lot happened on the run. Mike and I had gone through this process exactly a year before when he captured the top step on the podium. The most difficult part of the whole thing, by far, was when he wanted a split back to Matthew Russell in second place. The gap was 3:30, which I reported back to Spring Hill and all the spectators waiting for updates there via the magic of cell phones and Andy Schachat (best announcer there is, by the way). Not a big deal - it was something new, but something I was more than happy to do. It was actually pretty cool - maybe I even have a future as a sideline reporter! Trying to ride back to Mike, however, not so easy or fun. I had to get into a time trial position on my mountain bike and hammer as hard as possible for 1.5 miles. For a few minutes I thought my legs and lungs were going to burst, but eventually I made it back to the race leader and we continued on as usual. Mike went on to secure the win, but the podium today looked almost identical to the one for the sprint yesterday. It was the same three guys, Mike, Matt, and Owen, just with Matt and Mike just trading places today.

Back at the finish line, I hung around and waited to see Karen win the women's race. As soon as she did, Kat asked that Craig and I head back out onto the run course to monitor the athletes and make sure nobody was in distress. We rode back and forth along the course for about two hours before returning to the venue (mainly because I thought I might faint myself if I didn't eat or drink something. Apparently food and water are equally as important on days when you are really busy with important tasks and regular days). During the time we were out there, we were able to see our dad moving along nicely toward his first half-iron finish. Most people wouldn't schedule their first half for the day after a sprint they PR by 8.5 minutes, but that's just his style I guess! And, even more impressively, he went about 20-30 minutes faster than any of us expected today!

With the day winding down, I did a few last things to help Kat out. I helped prepare for the awards ceremony and then participated in it. First just by handing awards to Kat to give out, but then actually handing them out myself when she was pulled away to deal with a few emergency situations. Life in this realm, I found, is rather unpredictable!

The most important thing I learned today was the importance of owning your role, whatever it may be. As I talked to the volunteers today, I made it a point to express how critical it was for them to own their job. If that was yelling "Sharp corner ahead", then be the best yeller of that phrase ever. If the job was controlling an intersection, then control it with pride and passion. And if it was working at an aid station, then make sure everyone leaves the race thinking about how the race had the most energetic and helpful aid station volunteers of any event they've ever attended. In order to do a job well, you need to take ownership of it. The same went for me. I had a number of different roles today, but they can all be rolled into a "general, do whatever needs to be done" volunteer. I made that position my own. I did everything possible to make sure the day was perfect for everyone from Kat to Jeff to the hundreds of athletes, volunteers, and spectators who'd invested so much in this day. None of this ownership stuff is new to me, of course, but thinking about it today did serve as an important reminder of just how important it is to act with purpose and determination when given a job to do - whether it be at home, school, work or a triathlon. When you take pride in your work, you end up with a product worth being proud of.

To finish, I need to thank Kat and Jeff again for everything they do for the sport, for the community, and for me personally. I appreciate being given the opportunity to help out today. And I really can't say enough good things about them as people, race directors, or about the phenomenal event the've crafted. I've said it before, and I'll continue to say it in the future, but Pumpkinman is the best race around and is run by the best race director imaginable. Thank you both for everything. As many times as I say it, or someone else says it, neither of you can be thanked enough for the work you do for this event and the communities it benefits.