Run Forest Run

Normally I stay up late every night, being a night owl is a part of who I am. Since I can't sleep in during the week anymore, I've come to adore sleeping in on weekends. This past Saturday I gave up hours of sleep and hesitantly got out of bed at 5:00 am to volunteer at the Prarie State Marathon, which took place at Independence Grove in Libertyville. I dragged myself out of bed, threw myself in the shower to wake up, quickly got ready, grabbed a thermos full of coffee, and slowly headed out. I drove to my best friend, Taylor's, house so we could share the hours and experience together. While we were driving it was still dark out, which made the whole waking up process way harder. Partying out to music in the car and discussing how pathetic boys can be woke us up a bit though.

We got to the forest preserve, which was beautiful especially with the sun rising, and got out of the car. Stepping out of the car was a bit of a shock because it was definitely a chilly morning. We had no idea where were supposed to go so we followed the mass of early bird runners who had gotten there hours before the race was scheduled to start. Everything was already chaotic and I knew that day was going to be an unorganized mess. Unorganized messes don't bode well with control freaks like myself. 

Quickly, Taylor and I were sent off to two different things. Tay was at registration and I was assigned to passing out electronic anklets that matched each runner's number. The anklets tracked their starting and stopping times, and 600 runners needed to be individually handed one so numbers wouldn't be mistakenly taken by the wrong person. There were 7 boards with 100 numbered anklets on each. For a while it was me and an older man giving the anxious runners their anklets, and slowly more people were allocated to help us. Two girls from Mundelein High School were there along two people from Vernon Hills High School who I coincidentally knew through my ex-boyfriend. Each of us haphazardly ran to the boards as bunches of runners approached us, and our process was disorderly. One of the kids tried taking on all of the runners, despite other volunteers assisting them and he would yell at you if you didn't move fast enough. If there is one thing I am confident in, it's my leader skills. After I got increasingly annoyed, I suggested each of us take care of a board so we could be more efficient. Everyone went for it and everything became easier.

Immediately after we got through the runners, the race started and everyone was cheering for them as passed by to start their 13 mile half-marathon or 26 mile full marathon. The guy who led the marathon didn't entirely know where to put us originally, and that didn't change after the race started. A lot of us lifted boxes of food off of a truck to a table for the end of the race. I have never seen so many bananas in my entire life. There were hundreds and every single one needed to be separated, which became our new task. Between the smell of bananas and the irritating bees, I was more than ready to do something else. So I was asked to help set up the sign at the finish line, which was easy and quick. 

After that me and Taylor got bunched together to record finish times through the computer they had set up. I read of the numbers of the runners who came in while Taylor typed their numbers into the computer which somehow also corresponded to their anklets. Being recorders was stressful and more complicated than I imagined. The numbers weren't always easy to catch, groups of runners came in at one time, and just reading the correct number seemed difficult when you were under pressure. Around 11:30 most of the half-marathon runners had crossed the finish line and two new girls took over our position. 

Despite waking up before anyone in my house at 5:00, it was actually a lot of fun. Everything was faced paced and there is something about working under pressure that I like, which also made it fun. A lot of the runners thanked us because they appreciated our help and how organized we were. But we were only a small part of the work that was involved in making a marathon work. From what me and Taylor were told by one of the moms running it, Peter and his friends go for three or four days without sleep in order to make everything work. I felt good knowing I helped tackle a few of the hundred tasks those people take on every time. 

The marathon also reminded me how much I missed running and how I would really love to be a part of a half-marathon one day. So after going off of almost 5 hours of sleep and 6 hours of volunteering, I still decided to go to the Y and run a few miles on the treadmill. Reconnecting with running felt great, but what was even a greater feeling was helping out the hundreds of people at the marathon that morning.