204: Race Day Volunteers: The Heartbeat of Race Day

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Expo lights and cheering lines, costumes, bright
and hopeful signs.
We're not alone.
This path is wide, with everylistener by our side, From
training tips to tales thatshine inspiration in every line.
We may fall, but we rise again,fueled by community and friends
.
The road is long, but we belongin this rhythm, in this song.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
Rise and run from start to the run.
Together we shine like themorning sun.
Rise and run, we rise and run,we rise and run.

Speaker 3 (00:45):
Good morning friends.
It's Michelle and Jessica andwe're from Erie, pa.
We just finished a nine-miletraining run and we hope that
you guys have a happy run andhappy running and happy
listening.

Speaker 4 (00:57):
Our friend Michelle and Jessica, coming to us from
Erie, pennsylvania, as they'refinishing up a nine-mile
training run and introducing andwelcoming you to episode 204 of
the Rise and Run podcast.
Hello, my friends, I'm Bob, sohappy that you're here.

(01:19):
I'm here this week with Jack,hi, with Greg, hey, hey, hey.

Speaker 5 (01:23):
With John hey how you doing, and with Jack Hiya.

Speaker 4 (01:24):
With Greg hey, hey, hey.
With John hey, how you doing.
And with Alicia Hello, Hiyafriends, good to see you.
This week we talked to some ofour other Rise and Run friends
who have done the very, veryimportant job of volunteering at
races throughout the country.
We'll talk with them for awhile In the Race Report

(01:48):
Spotlight.
More members of the Rise andRun family this is a group who
ran an ultra relay up in thestate of Washington and had a
great time.
And one more guest this weekour buddy, mark Lane-Hulbert, is
with us.
Mark is here to talk about inthe vein of volunteering, about

(02:10):
guiding a blind runner at theBoston Marathon and about a book
he's working on.

Speaker 7 (02:17):
If you enjoy the Rise and Run podcast, please share
us with your friends andintroduce them to the Rise and
Run family.
We want to share their RunDisney journey.
Please remember to follow us onFacebook at Rise and Run
Podcast and on Instagram at Riseand Run Pod.
Check out our YouTube channeland visit our webpage,
riserunpodcastcom.
If you have a question, comment, race report or want to

(02:39):
introduce an upcoming episode,please call us at 727-266-2344
and leave us a recorded message.

Speaker 8 (02:47):
We also want to thank our Patreons, whose support
helps us keep the Rise and Runpodcast rising and running.
If you'd like to join thePatreon team, please check out
patreoncom slash rise and runpodcast and we have two new
members this week.
We have Allie without an E,who's in the plastic cheese
level, and Lauren, who is in theMandalorian level, and I was

(03:10):
going to do the theme song ofthe Mandalorian, but yeah, but
nobody can remember what itsounds like.
No, I did Okay.
So I looked it up and all I gotis do-do-do-do-do-do
do-do-do-do-do-do.

Speaker 4 (03:24):
Yeah, Theme songs ain't what they used to be kiddo
.

Speaker 8 (03:28):
Oh, I thought it was a good theme song.

Speaker 4 (03:31):
I remember back in the summer of 77.
I think there were like six TVtheme songs that hit the top 40.
Oh really, yeah, no kidding,welcome Back, cotter, right,
that was one of them.
Yeah, yeah, there were a bunch.
I'm not going to go through,like on the radio, I'm not going
to look them up.

Speaker 5 (03:48):
yeah, they were in the american top 40, yeah oh
nothing will ever beat the goat,though, of thank you for being
a friend from golden girls yeah,which wasn't that wasn't
composed for that that song.

Speaker 4 (04:00):
They used a already written song yes uh, cotter was
one.
Uh kojak, the eye of thesparrow was one of the sammy
davis jr sang it all right.
Enough of this.
It's a rise and run podcast,it's not the bob gets nostalgic
about 70s tv podcast.
Uh hey, as long as I'mapologizing for goofy things,

(04:21):
you know, friends, we try sohard to get everybody into the
race report, sometimes, candidly, sometimes you put it in too
late for us to get there.
But once in a while I got tothink the algorithm messes me up
because I go through it andthrough it and through it and
all of a sudden I'll see one andI don't want to let it go by
that tracy also did the coolsummer morning summer series

(04:48):
race three a couple weeks ago.
So, tracy, thanks for puttingthe report in.

Speaker 5 (04:53):
There you go the rise around podcast is sponsored by
our friends over at magic boundtravel, and I'm telling you,
magic bounds, I think it's gonnabe pretty busy, uh, coming up
here in the next couple of weeks.
Uh, you know, number one youknow we just had brad and maggie
on last week talking about therise run cruise.
You know, we're still lookingfor that.
One more person.

(05:14):
Get up to that, even 100 or or,or, as we were talking with the
haunted mansion, yeah, there'sroom for one more.
So, but there's always there'sroom for more than just one.
There's room for more than justone.
There's room for everybody.
So make sure you contactMagicBound about that.
But we got some news this weekthat Disneyland packages.
So if you're running theDisneyland half marathon in

(05:39):
January of next year, thosepackages went on sale yesterday
of next year.
Those packages went on saleyesterday.
Uh, so be sure to reach out toyour magic bound travel agent to
get all set up for that.
And then the last item that wehave here to pass along is that,
starting next week, disneycruise line sailings for I

(06:02):
believe it's late 2026 throughlike early to mid 2027, go on
sale.
So, depending on what yourlevel of castaway club is.
You know, if you're one ofthose people that has like the
pearl, I think you start nextmonday and then it goes all the
way through.
I believe the day after laborday is when it goes on sale to

(06:25):
the general public.
So if there's a cruise thatyou're thinking about going on
Disney Cruise Line, be sure toget in contact with your Magic
Bound Travel agent, because youknow, as Brad and Maggie told us
last week, that's when you getthe cheapest prices is by
booking as early as possible.

Speaker 4 (06:41):
So be sure to visit magicboundtravelcom for all of
your disney travel planningneeds nice goes from pearl to
peon, I believe, is the yeah, oh, shucks, that's great.
And let's look at the trainingschedule, friends.
Uh, disneyland, halloween twoweeks away I mean you can almost

(07:05):
uh, you can almost taste it.
Halloween two weeks away I meanyou can almost taste it from
here, two weeks away.
We're in training week 16 forthe challenge.
This, of course, is the last bigtraining weekend Five-mile walk
, followed by a 14-mile run walk, wine and Dine now nine weeks
away In training week seven.

(07:27):
This weekend, three miles witha magic mile and marathon
weekend is now 20 weeks away.
We're in training week eight.
From the experiencedmarathoners training schedule,
you got 13 miles this weekend.
For the dopey and goofychallenge training schedules,

(07:52):
you have nine miles.
I also want to point out,friends, that we are getting
next week for if you're going towine and dine and you're
staying on property, if you'regoing to wine and dine and
you're staying on property, oreven if you're not staying on
property, next week begins theadvanced dining reservation
window.
If you are arriving on Expo Dayon Thursday, then your advanced

(08:28):
dining reservation window dayopens up on the 24th of August,
so you can back yourself up ormove yourself forward from there
and figure out when your ADRsopen up.
Let's see, my friends, what dowe have in the way of training
updates?
Jack, why don't you kick us off?

Speaker 8 (08:41):
Yeah.
So unfortunately, last weeklast Monday I had a bit of a
rough run.
The few days prior I did a longrun and I started feeling
something happening in my hips,just brushed it off because I
was like it's probably I'm justsore, did a long workout,
whatever.
Monday I went and did a verysimple 30 minute run and I

(09:04):
couldn't even complete itbecause my hips were hurting so
bad that I had to stop and evenwalking home hurt and I was like
, well, this just throws awrench into my plans.
Um, and it has been an issue fornow almost a week and a half
and I'm really worried because Iwas going to go for a time over

(09:29):
at Great Smoky Mountains halfmarathon in a few weeks and it
sucks because, like literally atloopy looper, I went for a
timed run and I was very proudthat I was running exactly at
the pace that I need to run forthe half marathon and and I felt
good, I felt like I couldcontinue in that moment and I

(09:49):
don't know if I'm going to beable to do that now.

Speaker 4 (09:53):
How are you feeling now, Jack?

Speaker 8 (09:56):
Well, adam told me to get like you know, like the
small little rubber balls,tonight.
I had just got it in yesterdayand so tonight I went and used
it around my hip area.
Oh, my goodness, that hurt, butafterwards it felt good.
So like.
I think I just need to do thaton my left side, because there's

(10:16):
some stuff going on with myleft side now.
So I'm going to try and do thatPray that by next next week I
could start running, hopefullyagain all right, but we'll see.

Speaker 4 (10:25):
I hope so too.
Yeah, if from that kind ofreaction it sounds muscular,
doesn't?
It sounds like?

Speaker 7 (10:31):
yeah, you know, tight , tightness probably oh, it's
tightness.

Speaker 8 (10:35):
It's like tight in the calves too, so I'm not
really sure what to do.

Speaker 4 (10:40):
I think I just need to stretch more maybe, but I I
hope this works for you.
Jack, you're smart enough toknow what to do.
I'm not going to give youadvice, but just go easy.
Just be smart.

Speaker 6 (10:53):
So my training has been going pretty well.
I know that I've talked aboutbefore that I was out for a
little bit due to my back andeverything has been good.
I've continued to do mystretching, but one thing that I
always challenge myself withduring the month is to do

(11:15):
something new, and so this monthwhat I did that was new was
Yogi, my dog, and I.
We went medallion hunting forour city.
We did not find the medallion,nor did we get the $500 prize,
although we walked over the spotat least five times, which is
so frustrating.
But we got many, many steps.

(11:35):
He was really pooped out andone of the days before I went to
work when I work, I always getat least 10,000 steps.
I had 18,000 steps that day, soI definitely got my steps in
last week, which was fun, butyeah.

Speaker 7 (11:50):
I went out for my long run on Sunday because I had
to work Saturday.
So I went out Sunday a littlehotter than I expected what it
was going to be, but I did findout on that run.
When I came back on my Strava Ihad a bronze achievement which
I'm like wow.
I'm like, wow, I go.
What did I do?

(12:10):
Because I thought it was slow.
So my hill training is payingoff because I got the third
fastest time on one of the hillsI ran up and it's the third
fastest time since 2023.

Speaker 4 (12:25):
All right.

Speaker 7 (12:26):
Awesome.
I was like wow and I andsometimes you know when you're
out there and go, man, I'mdogging this hill, I'm not doing
it and then all of a sudden yourealize wow, it's, it was
quicker than I thought.

Speaker 4 (12:37):
Good for you, man, good for you.

Speaker 5 (12:40):
Boy, that that hill at mile seven for Burden Hand is
really not going to see what'scoming when you get to it.
Yeah, speaking of Burden Hand,I'll make this joke the hay is
in the barn.
You see what I did there.
I had 14 miles this pastweekend as my last long training

(13:02):
run before bird in hand in acouple of weeks.
And I will say, initially I gota little discouraged with myself
because with my weight lossover the last couple of months,
you know, my paces have beentrending in the direction that I
really want them to go.
And then over the course of thelong run I I was, you know, not

(13:25):
all the time, but you know,occasionally I did take like an
extended walk break here orthere and I was kind of getting
a little bit down on myself withthat.
But then, you know, once you,you know, hit, stop on the watch
and then you see the averagepace.
It was actually okay becausewhen you account for the pacing

(13:49):
of slowing down because of theheat because, john, like you
said, it was pretty warm andhumid this past weekend up here
in the northeast In theory myaverage pace was right at the
speed limit spot where coachwould want me to be for for that
particular, you know, long runpace and then also accounting
for the weather.

(14:09):
So in the grand scheme of things, I was happy about that.
But I will say it was the firsttime in a very long time where,
post run, I did not feel goodphysically and I was trying to
figure out why.
Why and there was two things Idid differently.
The first was one of my newfavorite fuels, especially for a

(14:32):
pre pre-run, because I'm tryingnot to run fasted anymore.
Is I like those go-go squeezeapple sauces that have the
electrolytes in them?
the go-go active yeah, andthey're delicious and and they
get the job done.
Like I said, it's really reallynice to take right before I
start my run.
So I was like you know, this isgoing to be my, my mile 10

(14:56):
treat, and so what it is?
I I took some advice from, uh,theresa um, she goes on
instagram by running in shinsplints.
She had talked about in ourfriend Kristen running makeup as
a video.
What she did is she put one ofthose in the freezer the night
before and then let it thaw outover the course of the run.

(15:17):
I was like perfect, I'm goingto do that exact same thing.
The problem is I probably shouldhave had that gogo squeeze at
like mile five or six and not 10, because not only did it thaw
out but it also got warm.
And when I went to go put that,you know, into my system at

(15:37):
mile 10, it just did not tastegood.
But you know, I got it downbecause I I knew I would need
the electrolytes and the sugarand such like that, but it just
it really didn't wreck havoc onmy stomach, I just didn't feel
pleasant.
And then the other part is,when I got home, I just I felt
very parched and lightheaded andsuch, and I think the reason

(15:58):
for that is, again, it was along run.
So I, you know, had myhydration vest with me and I
filled that sucker up with iceand put ice cold gatorade into
it and by the time, you know, Iwas probably in that last 5k or
so.
I had zero interest in drinkinganything, just because
everything that in that in thatbladder was just so warm.

(16:20):
So I, I think, when it comes tolong runs in the future, I need
to make a decision as to do.
I need to come up with a planwhere I can stop at like a
convenience store during thecourse of my run to be able to
refill things.
Or, instead of doing one longout and back, do I find a more
centralized spot that allows meto either come back to my car or

(16:43):
come back to my house, so thatI can, you know, fill up on ice
or water or extra fuel and such,and then also but then practice
the mental exercise of, eventhough I'm going back to my
house or I'm going back to mycar, that I'm not wanting to get
into that car and go home andcall it, you know, quits on the
run.

Speaker 4 (17:02):
But, as coach told me , the encouragement today on the
customized training call thatyou know quits on the run.

Speaker 5 (17:04):
But, as coach told me exactly, but you know, coach
gave me the encouragement todayon the customized training call
that you know I've dealt withenough mental things and running
that I should have the willpower to be able to not do that,
and he's absolutely right.
So you know, you just one ofthose things you live and you
learn during the training cycle.

Speaker 7 (17:20):
Yeah, I always plan my routes, my long routes, with
convenience stores on it, sothat I know, okay, I cause.
I.
I wore a vest a couple of timesto run and I realized why I
don't like wearing a vest.
I bought a new one.
I haven't tried it yet, but youknow, I could always not not
cause.
Like, when we run these raceswe have water aid stations

(17:42):
everywhere.

Speaker 13 (17:44):
Yep.

Speaker 7 (17:44):
So I figure I could try to okay mile five.
I got a convenience store mile10.
So it makes life a littleeasier instead of carrying a
water bottle the whole time.

Speaker 4 (17:56):
Yeah, I don't like carrying water bottles.
I've got a vest, though, andabout 10 miles is where I put it
on 10 miles and longer and it'sgot two soft water bottles that
fit into the pockets up front.
It's a North Face product,Brittany.
I just wanted you to know that.

Speaker 5 (18:15):
Are you sponsored by them now as well?

Speaker 4 (18:17):
No, but you know I subscribe to whatever the heck
that thing is she calls Own yourWeird, own your Weird.

Speaker 5 (18:25):
Own your Weird yeah.

Speaker 4 (18:26):
Are you getting your own?
shirt from North Face too Well,I don't know, maybe, if they
listen, I don't know All righttraining updates.
So here's the thing I had 14miles on my training schedule
this weekend also and I got zero.
Let's see if I can do thisquickly.
During springtime surprise Istarted noticing pain shooting

(18:49):
down my right leg.
I'd had this before and it wentaway, but started getting
progressively worse as trainingwent along and I started
noticing my shins would get numbas I progressed.
Becky would get on me becauseI'd be walking to the car and

(19:10):
suddenly something would hurtand she'd ask what happened.
I said give me a second, it'llbe all right, and I kept putting
that off.
Then, two weeks ago, I had 12miles.
I was still doing my training,although there were times that I
would stop to walk because itwas hurting.
Two weeks ago well, it's threeweeks ago now I had 12 miles on

(19:34):
the training schedule.
I went to do it Saturday and Ihad a hard time walking to the
start point.
So I said I'm going to put thisoff.
I put it off until Sunday and Idid my 12 miles on Sunday,
finished up on the treadmill,and when I finished up on the
treadmill, becky had to help meget off of it.
It just hurt that badly.

(19:54):
So in the last two weeks I'vebeen to see a couple of doctors.
I've had MRI, I've had x-rayand my surgery for my spine is
scheduled for next Thursday Well, actually a week from today,
from the release of the podcast.
It is uh, it's I'm getting oldkids, it's a spinal stenosis.

(20:17):
It's a severe case of spinalstenosis and I'm pretty, I'm
pretty optimistic.
Uh, I met with the surgeon,really liked the guy almost as
tall as I am.
That's impressive.
He really seemed my primarycare physician knows how

(20:38):
important it is for me to keepbeing part of this family and
keep running.
So she sent me to a guy who shetrusted would get me back as
soon as possible and he seemedto think that was his.
He seemed to think we'd be okay, seemed to think that we'd be
able to go walking not longafter the surgery, I mean in a

(21:01):
number of days, and as far asrunning, eh, probably six weeks
or so after the surgery.
I mean in a number of days andas far as running, probably six
weeks or so after the surgery.
So that means number one I willgo to a bird in hand.
I will go.
I asked the surgeon if I'd beable to fly a couple of days
after the surgery, he said yeah,it's actually.
It's actually a week, so Ishould be in good shape there.

(21:23):
I will not be running.
I will not even try to walk thecourse.
I think that would be dumb andAlicia would get mad at me if I
tried.
But I'll see you there.
I hope to be doing pretty wellby the time we get there.
Big thing for me is I just gotto be patient.

(21:44):
I've been through a lot of thisbefore.
It's uh.
Some of it is consistent withbeing an older runner, but the
best thing I've got going for meis you.
You are the best support crewin the world.
Whether you know it or not,whether you actively engage with
me or not, I know you're out ornot, whether you're actively

(22:05):
engaged with me or not, I knowyou're out there.
I know you're out there, I knowyou're supporting and that
means so so much to me that it'sgoing to be.
It's going to be okay.
So, as I was talking with CoachTwiggs this morning, I'm going
to be done one of these days,but I don't think it's today, so

(22:29):
we'll take it from there.

Speaker 5 (22:30):
Well, bob, I'm really glad that you have a real
positive outlook on this andwe're glad that you're getting
the help that you need so thatyou can get back out there as
quickly but, more importantly,safely as possible.
But you know, you know mesafely as possible.
But you know me, I'm always aglass half full kind of guy and,
to be honest, I think there'sactually a real big advantage

(22:52):
for you not running bird in hand, and that is because I know
you're going to be out therecheering and because you won't
be running.
That actually gives you quickeraccess to the picnic.

Speaker 4 (23:07):
Greg, as you started talking, I just thought of that.
You're going to be first inline for chicken and ribs.
I was just thinking that.
Not bad, I'm looking forward toit.
I hope we have a great weekend.
I'm looking forward to seeingeverybody.
It'll be fun.
I'll keep you posted, but bynext episode the surgery will be
done and I'll be back on theroad to recovery Caution runners

(23:28):
.
Change of topic ahead.
You know we talk about sometimesthe importance of race
volunteers.
We certainly know how importantthey are as runners, that we
couldn't have races without them.
So we thought on episode 204,here we'd not only talk a little

(23:52):
bit about race volunteering,but we'd have some of our Rise
and Run friends who havevolunteered at other races join
us and share their experienceswith us.
We're happy to have you with ustonight.
Gang, will you introduceyourselves please?

Speaker 13 (24:09):
Hi, I'm Ileana Owens and I'm from West Virginia, and
the most recent place that Ihave volunteered at was the
Hurricane 100K Ultramarathon.

Speaker 4 (24:20):
Ah, where was that Ileana?

Speaker 13 (24:22):
In Hurricane it's basically our backyard.
Ah, where was that Ileana In?

Speaker 4 (24:25):
Hurricane, it's basically our backyard.

Speaker 14 (24:27):
Oh, okay, okay, Hi, I'm Steve.
I'm from upstate New York.
Most recently, I volunteeredthis past weekend at the RRTA
Women's Distance 5K here locallyin Binghamton.

Speaker 15 (24:46):
Yeah, you just finished up, Steve.
Hi guys, it's Kay.
I am here in Florida and Iactually just volunteered this
weekend too at the kickoff ofthe Track Shack Running Series.
So it was the celebration ofrunning 5K.

Speaker 12 (24:55):
Very nice, I'm Mike.
I'm from southern New Hampshireand the most recent race I
volunteered at was actually theBoston Marathon.

Speaker 4 (25:03):
Never heard of it.
No.

Speaker 12 (25:05):
I've actually, mike, I've actually it's in some
small.

Speaker 4 (25:06):
Marathon.
Never heard of it.
No, I've actually, Mike.
I've actually I've heard of it.
Well, thanks guys.
Thanks, Thanks for joining usand thanks for volunteering.
And while you told us the lastrace, I know that you have
probably done more than that.
Let's kick off here and in therace report spotlight, I always

(25:26):
ask how you got started inrunning.
I'm going to ask, Mike, how didyou first get involved in
volunteering for races?

Speaker 12 (25:36):
Volunteering for any races, really from my kids'
elementary school.
My wife is really involved inthe PTO and they do a 5K
fundraiser and at some point Iwas signed up to do bib you know
handout the day before.
Um, that was, yeah, the firsttime I would have volunteered
and I've done that a couple ofyears now.
And then through a localrunning group they agree to

(25:59):
staff a table at the marathonevery year and then just sort of
put out the call to everyone inthe group to actually show up.
So that's how I did Boston.

Speaker 4 (26:06):
Nice.
So you guys started at schoolworking, helping the family out
more or less it's for the kids.
How about you, Ileana?

Speaker 13 (26:13):
So a while back there was a local 5k that a lady
in town wanted to do.
It was for a 4th of July and itwas a 5k and I worked at a
diner and so I said, well, wecould provide the water and do
like a water station, becauseit's 4th of July and it's uber
hot here in West Virginia.

(26:34):
But then so that was long timeago and then I hadn't
volunteered for a while.
But then two years ago, the100k here.
They started growing and aneighbor of mine is one of the
managers for the aid stationsand so he knows that I run or

(26:56):
started running, and asked if Iwanted to volunteer and so I
helped out in the aid stationand it was the coolest
experience because it was alsomy first time seeing people do
an ultra marathon and it wasjust the amount of people there
and the camaraderie was amazing.

Speaker 4 (27:14):
So neat.
Let's see, Steve, how about you?

Speaker 14 (27:17):
I kind of have two starts, actually my introduction
to running.
I actually volunteered longbefore I ran, about 30 years ago
or more, when I was in highschool.
Um, there was a local 5k and atthe time I was involved in high
school.
Uh, local, um sad group the time, I think, is students against

(27:40):
drinking driving it was afundraiser for the uh for the
cause, and they asked us to workat a table.
I knew absolutely nothing aboutwater tables, racing 5Ks,
nothing.
They put four 17-year-olds outin the middle of nowhere with a
jug of water and some cups andsaid here you go.
I couldn't even contemplatethat people would be running
this far, but they did.

(28:01):
And sure enough we had cupslined up the the first couple
runners came through and justlike plowed them over.
We didn't know we were to handthem out.
I'm thinking like a lemonadestand.
They're gonna come up, stop by,grab a cup of water.
And that's not how it worked.
Um, so that was my actual intro.
Fast forward quite a few yearshere, probably.
So just just about three yearsago, after I had actually

(28:25):
started running, gettinginvolved in my local run club
through some group runs, I met afriend who was directing a
local race which is notoriouslyhilly.
So I thought one way to get outof that would be to volunteer
for it.
So I did the water table.
It did work for two years.
I did end up running that racethis year.

Speaker 4 (28:46):
Okay, all right, kay, bring us home.
How'd you get started?

Speaker 15 (28:51):
So I think my story probably mirrors a little bit of
Steve's.
It wasn't quite high school,though, but I can't even
remember the first volunteeropportunity I had, but I do know
it was probably.
It was decades ago and it wasprobably connected to work.
And I laugh that Steve saidthat because I think it was at
the time distance wasn't mything.

(29:13):
My running journey started withlike track and field sprint, so
it was I'm not going to run the5k, so I'll I'll volunteer for
the 5K, you know whatever a 5Kis, and I think that's how it
started for me.
It's become more memorable forme since running distancing

(29:34):
distance racing and now saying Iwant to give back, but I
couldn't tell you guys anythingabout what the first one was.

Speaker 4 (29:44):
I'll do the 5K.
What's a k?

Speaker 15 (29:49):
I know 200, 400 and an 800.
Outside of that, I got nothingfor you at that time.

Speaker 7 (29:56):
Okay, everybody.
So you guys are volunteers.
What does a typical race daylook like for you guys as a
volunteer?

Speaker 15 (30:05):
I think it varies and I don't know if some of my
friends here will share that toobased on what your job has been
.
So a typical volunteer day, itcould be the day before the race
If you signed up for, like bidpickup, packet pickup, or some

(30:25):
races will do prep the daybefore, so you're more well
organized races.
When you sign up to volunteer,you actually are agreeing to the
time and the job duty, right,it's not just a oh, there's a
race, oh, I'm just going to putmy name in and when I get there
I'll figure out, or they'llfigure out, where they put me.

(30:48):
I've been part of those too,and those are fun.
Anyone who knows me knows thatwhen I say fun, it probably
wasn't, but that's not true.
But, but yeah, so if it's theday before you know, that can
look a little different the dayof.
So for all of our wonderfulrunners out there, when you see

(31:10):
the volunteers, please just loveon them.
The same way we talk aboutloving on for run Disney, right,
we talk about loving on castmembers.
They're just doing their job,doing their job.
Love on your volunteers,because some of us are showing
up two hours before you guys getthere, or two hours before your
alarm even goes off and wedidn't pay to come, so we didn't

(31:34):
.
We're not there because ourmoney was already spent and
we're not there because wesigned up Like, yeah, just know
it's free for us.
We're not getting paid to bethere and we might be there
hours before you guys get there.
Um, just to make sure thateverything is set up for you and
it's a well executed race.

Speaker 7 (31:56):
Okay, mike, I know so you did a, you volunteered at a
major.
Is there anything uh crazy orinteresting about that?

Speaker 12 (32:05):
I mean I think Kay captured it right it's you were
there a lot earlier than I maybeexpected when I was signing up
and it's like a very specificprocess.
There are rules and there aremeetings and there is a training
you have to watch.
So, yeah, I did Boston thispast year.
We were at the top of, at awater stop at the top of

(32:26):
heartbreak hill, and we had tobe there before eight and the
first runners didn't pass usuntil about 11, 30 um, and so
you know even before that you,for boston, you have to actually
apply to be a volunteer.
Now I sort of had like a youknow a cheat code, like a code
to enter to join with the groupthat I was already with.

(32:51):
They had kind of already beenpre-vetted.
But you have to apply to be avolunteer there you have to
select what you'd like to do,but then you know you have to
click a waiver that says,actually they're just going to
tell you whatever it is theyneed you to do, and so we had to
get there super early thatmorning.
The course is already set up,the course is already locked
down, so you can't cross it.

(33:12):
Really.
You have to park in reallyspecific areas for Boston.
And then when we're there, itwas just great.
Here are tables and fill upthousands of cups of water right
Stacking all the water.
We were lucky this year itwasn't terribly hot, but still
just making sure everything isset up, because once runners

(33:32):
start coming by, there is nochance to stop and take a break
in a race that big.

Speaker 4 (33:38):
Mike, with Boston you talked about the first runners
coming by, but the first runnerswould be the elites.
Now they have their own systemfor volunteers and for fuel and
hydration right.

Speaker 12 (33:51):
Yeah, so they have separate tables for the elites,
but they could still grab awater if they want.
And really I think the idea isthey want everything set up so
that the course is clear for theelites and all the cars and
things when they come through.

Speaker 4 (34:07):
That all makes sense, but even so, even behind the
elite field, you got guys runsub five minute miles and
they're out there cooking.

Speaker 12 (34:15):
It is amazing how different holding a water cup
out is for someone running a 230marathon versus a five-hour
marathon.
And that's, I am running afive-hour marathon.
Um, but like the, the momentumthat they take that cup off your
hand, yeah, uh, at that speedis is crazy ah, interesting
iliana.

Speaker 5 (34:35):
So mike and k have told us about various roles that
can happen in over the courseof volunteering for a race for
you.
In all the volunteeringopportunities that you have
participated in, is there afavorite role that you have?

Speaker 13 (34:53):
I guess my biggest experience is the 100k, and the
director of this race is mattyoung and he's a super local guy
and the history of meek trailis that it's all man-made trail,
so it has many anywhere from a5K to 10 mile loops in the town

(35:14):
of Hurricane, and so everyone'svery, all the volunteers are
very invested in it, and so whenthe 100K started and I
volunteered, the first thingthat Matt said when the
volunteers had our littlemeeting the day before was our
number one rule is that there isno rule, and the funny part

(35:37):
about that is because he saidthat he has been to many ultra
marathons and what he, the onesthat were super memorable for
him, was the ones where thefamily and the runners were
having fun.
So not just the pacers, not justthe runners.
And so the way the 100k is, youdo six I think it's six laps or

(35:58):
10 laps, but it's a loopedcourse, and so you always end up
in this area called the bull,and so he says our goal is to
basically have a 24 hour partyand just to make sure that the
families are all taken care ofand the volunteers.
And so I guess, to answer yourquestion, greg, is that there is
no rule of.
We just have fun and we makesure that everyone's taken care

(36:18):
of.

Speaker 5 (36:19):
Excellent, that's awesome.

Speaker 8 (36:20):
I love that so much because anytime you go for a
race you just want to have fun,man, sometimes Awesome.
I love that so much becauseanytime you go for a race you
just want to have fun, man.

Speaker 13 (36:27):
Sometimes you can get real serious about it, but
the only way you're actuallygoing to enjoy it is by just
letting loose.
Yeah, for sure, and it's like,and it's fun for the family as
well, because you know they'reout there for 24 hours as well.
They might not be physicallyrunning the trails, but they're
waiting on on the runners andtheir families doing it, and so,

(36:47):
like, there's live music,there's free ice cream, um, and
a part of what yeah, you didn'ttell me about that the first
year.
You tried to get me to listen.
They have, yeah, they have thisguy that comes for like three
hours and he has a soft servemachine and you just get as many
cones as you want.
Um and um.
Two years ago I started this.
Um, they have a sunrise yogaand a sunrise, a sunset yoga and

(37:11):
um, since I have yogabackground they've had last year
they asked me to lead it and sothat was super, so fun too it
was like so, yeah, the.
So it was a beautiful situationand so I did that and then
helped with the a station when Iwas done.

Speaker 8 (37:24):
So I love that.

Speaker 5 (37:25):
Can you imagine like a runner just double fisting
like soft service ice cream downthe trail like so, steve, I
don't think your raceopportunities had yoga or soft
serve, even though I know youand I will be sharing in some
soft serve in a couple of weeksat Birdhand.
But any particular favoriteroles that you've had over, uh,

(37:45):
your volunteering time all myrace um volunteers have been
race day.

Speaker 14 (37:50):
I haven't had any, um, uh, like day before, any big
pickups, things like that.
Um, I primarily have done watertables.
Course marshal, yeah, I bothhave their pluses and their
minuses.
Um, water table, I mean you arebusy non-stop filling handing
whatever your I mean.
Water table, I mean you arebusy nonstop filling, handing
whatever I mean your role is atthe table.
You're busy, busy, busy, busy.

(38:10):
Horse marshal I mean I think itwas mentioned, I think last
week anybody's gotten lost on acourse before, so you really
don't want anybody getting past.
You Make sure that you knowwhich way they're going.
Fortunately, everything I'vedone is closed or not too open
of a course, so it hasn't been abig concern.
But I mean, some of these racesare on open roads.

Speaker 6 (38:31):
So you guys talk about being busy, busy, busy
during these races, especiallyif you're doing something like
Mike, where you're doing Boston.
How do you keep up theenthusiasm and and keeping that
momentum to help the runners asthey're going on, kay, how do
you help them?

Speaker 15 (38:47):
Wait, I'll have to defer to Mike and Steve.
I was just about to say hatsoff to anybody doing the water
stations.
My stations have usually beenoff course, not on course, so
I'm more of the enthusiasm toget them pumped to the start
line I'm more into, thoughno-transcript.

Speaker 14 (39:30):
Well, kay just kind of I think Kay kind of nailed it
For me it's what would I expect, what would I want, what would
I need?
I try to be that volunteer,understanding you know me as a
runner coming through whatexactly it is I'm looking for
whether it's to get through thatwater station fast, know where
I'm going and it varies.
I mean Mike's talking a muchlarger race.
I've done 5Ks where it's moreof a sprint type thing, where

(39:55):
the fastest runners aren't evengoing to really bother with the
water unless it's super hot.
Some in the middle and the back, I mean they're going to stop
at every water station they can,and I've been with the longer
ones where it's a distance one.
But either way, what are theygoing to need?

(40:15):
So if you're that fast runner,probably just get out of my way
or have that water ready.
If you're a slower runner, I'mgoing to need more water, I'm
going to need more patience.
So when you encourage them, Imean the fastest runner probably
doesn't need as much as thatslowest runner, which sounds
strange, but when you're, you'remile two and you know you've
got a mile to go and you're justthinking that's the end of the
world.
You really need thatencouraging and you can.

(40:37):
I for me, I can see it on faces, I can see it, uh, when they're
coming in.
Who really needs it?
Like, like you got this, youknow you're mile two, you've
already halfway past this andyou're going to finish this.

Speaker 15 (40:52):
You've got this and just keep it going.
Yes, I almost forgot I'm on adifferent level than Boston or
adult 5Ks.
I completely forgot all thetimes that I've done Girls on
the Run, volunteering, and Ihave had the pleasure of leading
like the chair squad volunteers.
So for me it has been fun tolike first just make sure I'm

(41:13):
covering all the zones right forthe chair squad, but I've
enjoyed finding the dead zoneand going to that dead zone
because these are kids, right?
Guys.
Like when we sign up for the5Ks, their parents for the most
part, sign them up for thisprogram.
There are some girls out therethat have no interest whatsoever

(41:34):
in running, walking even, buttheir parents have them see it
to completion.
So to be out there on thatcourse, find the zone where
there's no one cheering and it'son the loop back.
So at this point they're likewhy did y'all sign me up for
this?
And I hate my parents, right?
So it's like making sure youcheer and to watch some of those

(41:59):
girls go from like disgruntledfaces to hearing someone that
could be almost obnoxious if youwill, you know screaming and to
catch them, start running, evenif it's just for the short part
of passing you, it's fun tolike, understand your role there

(42:21):
and take your breaks, have asmuch fuel as you need, have your
water to be hydrated right,because the energy that you're
exerting is going to takesomething out of you.
And you've got.
You don't have the time of your5k right.
Your 5k probably could be likea 30 minute 5k, maybe if you're
faster or if you take a longertime to finish.

(42:43):
No, it is the 8 to 10 orwhenever.
If it's a marathon right yourstation.
You have to have your energylevel for the five hours for the
six hours.

Speaker 12 (42:56):
Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 15 (42:57):
And so just bringing what you need to and knowing
that you're there for them.
So it's keeping centered withwhy you were there to begin with
.

Speaker 12 (43:07):
I think what Kay was just saying is so true.
Right, I really just tried tohold on to.
No matter how long I'm at thiswater stop, it is still way
easier than actually running theBoston Marathon.
Right, I've done marathons.
They're generally miserable inmy experience.
And maybe you all have had thesame experience, but you know

(43:29):
it's easier to be at the waterstop than that, but also really
trying to pace yourself, likeKay was saying, find that dead
zone.
I happen to be right at the topof Heartbreak Hill, which is,
like this, huge milestone in theBoston Marathon.
It's something worthcelebrating, but it also means
that we're right across thestreet from Boston College and

(43:49):
so for the middle part of therace there's just this huge
group of maybe intoxicatedstudents out there screaming
their heads.
So as a Waterstop volunteer youdon't actually have to have
that much energy, but at thebeginning and the end there's a
much bigger gap for volunteersto fill in some of that cheering
.

Speaker 8 (44:09):
I'm sure you guys have seen a lot during races
with volunteering.
So what is the most unexpectedor random or unusual thing
you've ever seen during a race?
I'm just curious.

Speaker 14 (44:29):
So in a volunteer role I've seen some pretty cool
things, but in this particularinstance it was not me, it was
the roles reversed when I ranthe Steamtown Marathon last year
.
A lot of their water tables arethrough local communities, so
it's usually the local trackteams, sports teams, different
organizations, and I rememberthere was one particular right

(44:49):
around mile 19, which I thinkanybody that's done a marathon
knows this about where youstruggle, there was groups of
kids that would grab a water andthey would run with you and
they would just say how are youdoing?
How are you going to?
You got this, you got great,you can make it, you're doing
great.
Give them your names talkingback and forth just to kind of
bring you back down.
And then you know they'd gomaybe a quarter mile with you

(45:12):
and they'd say you've got this,I'm going to let you go, you're
good.
They would cycle back to thewater table and they'd find
somebody else in the crowd andthey would do it again.
So to me that was probably oneof the coolest things I needed
right then and there At the sametime it's probably the coolest
things I've seen from avolunteer.

Speaker 8 (45:26):
So I guess on the flip side of that, because it
kind of goes into what Steve issaying, what is the one memory
you've ever seen duringvolunteering that you will keep
forever?

Speaker 13 (45:38):
Two years ago, when I was volunteering, I was there
during the middle of the day andthe ultramarathon started at 6
am, right, so they gave himuntil about a little past
midnight or whatever, but Iwasn't sure of any of the racers
at that time.
I just volunteered.

(45:58):
I was there having a good time,a good time, and then at a
certain point people the buzzwas happening around there and
come to find out that the firstplace male finisher was coming
through very soon and he's alocal guy, goes to Marshall
University, and we're like, ohyeah, he's coming through, he
might be breaking the courserecord, and so the coolest thing

(46:22):
was just knowing that.
We saw him coming off of thehill because, being in the trail
the way it is, there's reallyno chip time.
You cross the chip when youcross the bowl line right, which
is the start line, and you dothat six times.
So we were just kind ofguessing what his time was.

(46:44):
So, um, we were just kind ofguessing what his time was and
so we knew he was coming through.
And we saw him coming down andeveryone was going nuts like so
many cowbells, so many peoplecheering, and that year was
really hot.
So there was actually somebodywho rigged the hose and doing
like a waterfall spray towardsthe end just to like cool the
runners down.
And then the coolest part wasthat his friend was right on his

(47:08):
tail.
He was second place and so weknew second place was coming
through too.
So we treat cheered on thefirst place, you know for
cheering him.
And then second place comes inand then when that died down
about like third, I don'tremember how long it took, but
the third place finisher wascoming, but before him we went

(47:30):
nuts because actually the firstplace female came through and it
was just so amazing to see herfinish.
So I got to see like firstplace male, first place female,
and then the third place malecame through and he was so
excited for the first placefemale because I guess they ran
together for a little bit andthe craziest part was that he

(47:50):
was so excited after running allthat.
I think it was like 10 hours atthat point after running he
started doing pushups on thefloor and we're like what is he
doing?
But he was, he was having agood time and then he his sister
had his dog, so his dog wasplaying with him.
It was really cool.
That was just the most fun I'veever seen.
That's what gets you excited.

(48:12):
Not that I don't know if I'llever run an ultra, but watching
other people accomplish crazythings like running 60 miles is
amazing.

Speaker 5 (48:21):
All right, kay, I'm going to come to you for this
one, but I want to get answers,hopefully from everybody on this
one, but Kay, what do you hopea runner takes away from any
interaction that you have as avolunteer?

Speaker 15 (48:38):
Positive energy, honestly, from start to finish.
I think I hope that they getfrom us a shared joy in them
with a volunteer, because wehave no idea if it's their first
race.
We have no idea if it's theirfirst time going to achieve that

(49:15):
goal.
So I hope every interactionwith a volunteer is positive and
it's enough for them to sayrunning is fun.
I don't know if I want to sayenjoyable, because sometimes it
can suck right, Embrace the suck, but it's something I want to
come back and do again and we'rerepresenting the organization.

(49:37):
And so I don't know if werealize that sometimes as
volunteers right, we'rerepresenting that organization
that put this race together andI hope that we have upheld the
brand that they would want tocome back and do the race again
or a race again.

Speaker 5 (49:54):
All right, steve, that story that you just told us
a couple of minutes ago aboutthat runner at Steamtown I'm
sure that probably had a reallyprofound impact on you.
How do you feel about thesituation?
What type of impact do you wantto impress upon a runner while
you're volunteering?

Speaker 14 (50:09):
You know what that's actually a good lead-in.
I want any runner thatinteracts with me to know that
I'm there to help them in anyway I can.
If it's simply giving you aglass of water, fine.
This past weekend I had arunner on the out and back.
Both times came by and I knowfrom experience.
She said throw the water at me.

(50:30):
And I knew what she meant and Iwas grabbing a second cup to
give her.
As I threw one, she said no,really.
I said, oh, believe me, I knowwhat you're saying, I've asked
for it myself.
And on the loop around she saidhit me again.
And sure enough, I got that.
But whatever you need, if youneed a cup handed to you, I'm
going to hand it to you.
If you need a cup thrown at you, I will throw a cup at you.

(50:50):
If you want to make sure thatyou know somebody is there with
you, I did run with somebodyshort distance who was just
trying to get that water downand put some over their head
because it was so warm.
It was maybe 20 steps, but justso that they could continue on.
I just want them to know thatfor me I'm here for you.
You know we've all been in theshoes and I hope they they kind

(51:12):
of recognize that I'm not justhere.
We've all said, as volunteer,we're not getting paid, we're
here because we want to help.

Speaker 5 (51:19):
That's awesome.
Now, Steve, I do have a littlebit of advice for you.
In a couple of weeks.
Do not ask any race volunteersto throw a road apple at you.

Speaker 14 (51:29):
I will not do that, nor will I step in it, there we
go.

Speaker 4 (51:33):
That's even more challenging.

Speaker 5 (51:36):
Ileana, do you have any thoughts on the subject?

Speaker 13 (51:38):
Oh yeah, and just like what Kay and Steve said,
it's about letting the runnersknow that you are there for them
, because when you put yourselfin the runner's shoes, you know
that all the things are goingthrough your head.
Oh, my goodness, am I going tofinish?
My stomach doesn't feel good.
And then, especially in theultra races, it's a long time

(52:01):
that you can sit in that field.
It's a long time that you cansit in that field, and so
whenever they come through thebowl and they want anything,
they go straight to their seats,right to either change shoes or
rest for like a few seconds,and I've always tried to,
whether or not they have peoplearound them or not, I try to go
to them, be like Can I let yousit for like 10 seconds so I can

(52:22):
fill your bottle up, so youdon't have to wait on me, things
like that, and just to givethem that piece of?
Okay, I can actually sit for asecond and know that we do it
out of genuine want and notbecause we're forced to.
Like everybody said, we arerepresenting, but at the same
time, we do it because we likeit.
Like you know, we.

(52:43):
We do it, um, to see the joyand we are literally the
cheerleaders for these people,because we want to see them
cross the finish line Mm-hmm and, and you do understand, I mean
you.

Speaker 4 (52:55):
You may not have run an ultra, you may not have run
the Boston marathon, but youunderstand what it takes and you
understand the mindset of therunners.
We we spent a lot of timetalking about water tables,
which I think is probably wheremany of the volunteers go.
Have you done any othervolunteer type work at races?

Speaker 15 (53:15):
So yeah, so I've done what I shared, like I've
done the chairing along.
Like, like girls on the run,they have like a legit chair
squad right.
So they plant people becausewhere they, how they they do
their races.
They might do it at a park, so,um, they might not have, like
you know, when you do the raceson streets, you have people that
come out of their houses andlike the local community so they

(53:38):
might not have the localcommunity on that course.
So they plant people to chair.
Um, my favorite role has beenbid pickup for what I've shared
already, and it's because I Itake pride in knowing that I
might be the first point ofcontact for them.
That's true.

(53:59):
And I have no idea.
Like I said already, I don'tknow if this is their first race
.
I don't know if it's theirfirst time doing the distance.
I also don't know what the heckthey went through to get to me
at that point.
I've seen some people runningin frantic, you don't know,
traffic or flights delayed, andso to just kickstart it for them

(54:29):
, I really do take pride in thebid pickup and I think sometimes
I look at them like they'relooking, like they're shocked
that I'm so happy, but I'mgenuinely happy.
They don't know you role, sothat I've done that and then
I've been part of setup and so,um, that, yeah, there's some
things, yeah, there's like moreto that too, right, but but
there's there's just.
There's so many other roles.
I know the water station ispopular because it's so

(54:50):
important, right, we hear somuch feedback after a race
around if there was enoughhydration, but, but there are a
lot of other roles that go intosetting up and make sure that
maybe some people don't eventhink about.
Right, it's something as smallas your arch was the arch for
your start and your finish.

Speaker 4 (55:13):
Here's one thing I don't think many people think
about.
We go by and we get a cup ofwater as a runner how many cups
of water, especially in a bigrace?
And, mike, I'm looking at you,how many cups of water are you
filling up?
And how big a part of theprocess is that keeping all
those cups filled.

Speaker 12 (55:32):
Yeah, so we.
I mean Boston.
The water stop is a couplehundred yards long, and it's
Gatorade, powerade, whoevertheir sponsor is at the front,
and then all water at the back,and so that's really why we're
there.
Three hours before the firstrunners, every table was stacked
probably three or four cupshigh, so it's like cups and then

(55:55):
cardboard and then cups, andthen, cardboard.
This year wasn't particularlyhot, so we did actually end up
dumping a handful at the end.
So throughout the race, itwasn't a matter of continually
refilling.
They just honestly don't thinkthere'd be enough time.
It's about the setup.
And then, probablyunfortunately, the group I was

(56:17):
with was at the very, very endof the water stop, and so the
cleanup of raking up thousandsof water cups is also on us
Right.
So so you didn't think aboutthat.
I think they will have a streetsweeper come through, but the
idea is that there are as fewcups on the floor as possible
afterwards and, um, it's justbig garden rakes and trash bags.

Speaker 7 (56:40):
Okay.
So here's the question what'sharder setting up the water
table or picking up the emptycups?

Speaker 12 (56:47):
Probably setting up, cleaning up.
It's a rake.
Imagine you're just scoopingleaves into a trash barrel.
It's kind of gross, it's alittle bit uh annoying.
But the setting up like youwant them in a straight line so
that they don't fall over and sothat the the layer on top of
them will be sturdy, and so Idefinitely think setting up was

(57:08):
harder it's like building ahouse with cards yeah, exactly,
it also was pretty windy and solike you put an empty cup down
before you pour water in it andit's just sliding off the the
table.
So there's a whole process togetting it done right.

Speaker 5 (57:22):
Here at Rise and Run we like to stay as positive as
possible, but I know especiallywhen it comes to the chucking of
cups and such like that, therecan be a negative stigma around
it.
Like you know, the trash can'sthere, just go, just please plop
it in as a volunteer.
Is there anything that a runnerdoes that just irks the heck

(57:47):
out of them.

Speaker 14 (57:48):
Good question Is a volunteer no.
As a runner yes.

Speaker 15 (57:52):
I don't know if I would say irk, but it is fun to
watch people try to break therules.
This race was sponsored byCorona, and so they had beer out
, they had per bib, and so inthe past they allowed them to

(58:21):
like take them home, like theywould just put them in their bag
, like on unopened, and that waslike, and I don't know if they
allowed them to or they got awaywith it, right.
So let me just say that too.
This year, though I was, I wasthe authority figure, I guess.
If you'd say right, so theygave them the air and I was at

(58:42):
the end, you could not pass mewith an unopened can.
The cops were there to stop youfrom passing the point that
they're licensed, I guess right,but I was by the tent and they
wanted to make sure.
No one, because once you getout, it's easy to sneak it into
a bag or something.
You couldn't leave me withoutthe cans, so it was like fun to

(59:04):
watch people stack them in thehopes that I didn't see it or
I'm watching.
You already got your gift bag,so you're trying to, you know,
and I'm like well, hold on, I'ma volunteer, you know.
So it's like I can, I'll do thismuch, but it's just fun to
watch rules try to be broken,even with, like, the bid pickup.
You know if I'm asking for therequired.

(59:26):
So I think it like cherryblossom, yeah, because these are
things I don't think it's tabooto say the thing.
Well, you asked the question,so it can't be taboo, right?
You know, if you're told thatyou have to show the email you
have to provide, like cherryblossom allows a different
person to pick up bibs, right, Iknow I run Disney community.

(59:46):
It's like so unheard of.
Yes, there are races that allowthis, so people would give you
a hard time if you're like no, Ineed to see, I need to see the
full email, I need to see yourID, right.
So it's like those littlethings that recognize that
people are just doing the jobthey've been asked to do, but

(01:00:08):
don't give an attitude if Idon't even know what the
attitudes are for, right, Idon't know if it's because you
don't have it or what.
So it's like those littlethings.
Sometimes you're like well,this is about to be fun, right,
okay, there goes the word again.
Right, so, like, we'll see howthis goes.

Speaker 8 (01:00:25):
I think that those are like those things.
When I was a boat captain atUniversal, especially during the
nighttime, there would be a lotof people that try and bring
their drinks onto the boat orhide it in some way, and it was
always fun to catch them because, oh, this, this, you know what?
This is just water, sir, thatsmells like vodka.

(01:00:45):
Oh no, that's just what's watersmells like.
But like you'd have so manypeople trying to convince you
that that what they have isnon-alcoholic in some way, and
I'm like, sir, the only the onlythose cups you have right there

(01:01:06):
, they only put alcohol in it.
They don't do any non-alcoholicbeverages.
And it's just like I can feel.

Speaker 15 (01:01:12):
I can feel the stress for you for that event
yeah, because it was like, oh,oh, you have to open it, or oh,
this is such great service.
And I didn't know if they werebeing smart or they were really
saying thank you for cracking itBecause, like, oh, my fingers
couldn't open it.
That's what I'm here for.
Here you go, I've got you.

Speaker 7 (01:01:35):
The last, one of the last races I did was a 5k and
they gave out beer afterwards.
When they were giving the beerout, they were actually opening
them for you and handing them toyou.

Speaker 15 (01:01:45):
So you, they were not giving you unopened
containers so they weren't doingthat, john, but it was like I
guess once it got busy, like I,you know, we're all human,
there's human error, which isprobably why they had like the
last person.
So there were some that somehow, or it looked opened like it
looked like one of mycounterparts tried to pop it,

(01:02:06):
but they didn't, and I'm prettysure the runner was happy
because you could see, but itdidn't.
It didn't puncture the can, andso I was like up one second and
I'm like I know they hate me,but I'm gonna do it with a smile
you know that's so funny.

Speaker 8 (01:02:25):
They could just tell you it's apple juice.
I had people telling me theirbeers were apple juices before
with foam.
I don't, I don't want thatapple juice so it's been so much
fun chatting with you guys.
Now I'm curious you guys havetalked about a few races here
and there, but is there any racethat you specifically look

(01:02:46):
forward to volunteering at everyyear, and what's your reasoning
for why?

Speaker 13 (01:02:51):
Well, so since the 100K.
For me it's actually coming uphere in a couple of weeks.
I do look forward to that.
I don't have any otherexperience much experience on
volunteering at other races, butI mean, man, if I could
volunteer at a major it would beamazing.
Like just hearing about Bostonsounds so cool.
But one of my goals is toeither run New York or Chicago,

(01:03:16):
and if I could volunteer at oneof them, just the cheering, you
know, holding signs, cowbells,all those things, I'm for it,
like let me, I want to figurethat out, but it's yeah, it's
honestly just whatever gives methe hype, like let's do it, just
signing me up, I'll be there.

Speaker 12 (01:03:32):
I think it's so funny Ileana just said that she
would want to do Boston becausemy answer would actually not be
Boston.
It was wonderful.
Likely we'll do it again.
But something about like thehometown 5K you know the
fundraiser for my kids'elementary school just being
there seeing the kids actuallysign up and you know my kids,
their friends, helping, hand outbibs or cheer them on race day,

(01:03:55):
something about like that, thatenvironment of helping these
really little kids get intorunning and trying to make it a
super positive experience.
Boston was amazing, but there'sso much history there.
But I think actually for me,getting to see it in the next
generation is really cool andwhere I'd rather spend my

(01:04:17):
volunteer time for me I would.

Speaker 14 (01:04:20):
I would say, um, not necessarily a major, but a big
race would be desirable.
But locally.
I found out after I volunteeredmy first time here, locally, um
, that not even realizing I had,I had run so many local races.
That part of our run club'sgrand prix which is scoring of
the best seven local races, thatpart of our run clubs grand
prix which is scoring of thebest seven local races.
That's, it can be benefit races, it can be club races and also

(01:04:47):
requires one volunteering perseason qualifies you to be
admitted to this.
I did not realize that at first.
I just, toward the end of theyear they're saying, hey, you
know, make sure you get yourscoring in if you qualified.
And I'm going through and I'mcounting races and I'm like, oh
yeah, I volunteered, so I set myinformation off.
I actually ended up winning myage category and a half for two

(01:05:08):
years.
So now I know it exists.
So now it's kind of fun when itcomes to volunteering to go
through and pick which event Iwant to volunteer at.
Sometimes it's easier because Idon't ever want to run a
certain race again.
It's like I can volunteer thatone.
But yeah, looking forward totrying different races, because
there's different distancesthere's 5Ks, 10ks, there's 20Ks,
there's 15Ks, there's halfmarathons, there's you know,

(01:05:31):
there's full days where you'redoing a 5K and a half marathon.
So just looking forward totrying different events and
seeing different people,different types of runners,
that's what I look forward tojust the unknown but kind of the
known.

Speaker 15 (01:05:44):
I think there are two for me, one that's just
close to the heart.
I've already talked about GiveKids the World.

Speaker 17 (01:05:52):
So that's one on the bucket list for a different
reason.

Speaker 15 (01:05:56):
But Girls on the Run just because of what it stands
for and I think our communitywould love this that they don't
actually like the 5K.
They call it a celebrationBecause it's really just them
celebrating all the work thatthey put in through the season
in their little like trainingand then the self-esteem classes

(01:06:20):
that they in skill buildingthat they have.
So I love that, but it's notmajor.
It's not like the majors.
But Cherry Blossom is a popularone and I look forward to that
one every year for a few reasons.
They take really good care oftheir volunteers.
I've volunteered for differentorganizations, so I don't go

(01:06:41):
into it expecting a whole heckof a lot, right, that's not
really why I signed up.
I just signed up to be part ofthe event.
But the way that they werechecking on you like do you have
enough snacks and fuel and doyou need any more water?
The shirts are amazing, right,I'm like what?
Like even the shirt.

(01:07:02):
It's like as if I had paid torun.
And then, of course, for anyonewho really knows Cherry Blossom
, they also know.
So I'll just like put this outthere for those that are in the
DC area when you volunteer forCherry Blossom, you actually get
a guaranteed registration entry, like not an entry to the race,

(01:07:24):
right, you still have to payfor the race, but your
volunteering a year beforeallows you to bypass the lottery
, to just go ahead to register.
So that's fun too.
I didn't know that when Isigned up.

(01:07:44):
I just I found out in talkingto a volunteer.
I was like what are y'alltalking about?
And I'm like oh, I just signedup because I had to come for the
expo so I figured there'snothing else to do for the rest
of the day.
So I think Cherry Blossom Girlson the Run for me All right.

Speaker 6 (01:08:01):
So this has been really fun.
I would like to know what isthe funniest thing you've heard
or seen on the course while youwere volunteering?

Speaker 15 (01:08:10):
I mean, what's our range here?
What am I allowed to say?
What gets edited?
Because, jack, you haven'tcussed once.
I don't know if you're likefilter already happened, but I
heard that they bleep your, your, your languages, you know so.
So let me know what I can sayhere.
Guys, okay, because it wasn'ton the course, but, um, someone

(01:08:32):
did and create their own corralp by our volunteer station.
So that's a funny thing, rightto smell, wait, like out in the
open, like hey y'all, we werehere we were so busy we never
saw it.
But that smell was not therewhen we started and it was there

(01:08:54):
at the end.

Speaker 8 (01:08:56):
So, man, they didn't even give him a little shovel,
they just gave him a cover.

Speaker 4 (01:09:01):
So what else funny?

Speaker 8 (01:09:01):
happened.

Speaker 15 (01:09:06):
Oh, so there's that.
I don't know if that getsedited, so sorry y'all, but at
least y'all will have thatlittle joke.

Speaker 7 (01:09:12):
Runners often get medals.
If volunteers got a medal, whatwould yours say on it?
I have one for Kay, if shedoesn't medal.

Speaker 6 (01:09:18):
What would your say on it?
I have one for Kay, if shedoesn't want to answer it for
herself.
Oh, I've got two.

Speaker 15 (01:09:23):
I've got a cheesy one and then, like a I don't
know, I've got a.

Speaker 6 (01:09:28):
well, wait, I want to hear what Alicia says.

Speaker 15 (01:09:30):
Okay, let me say my first, just in case yours is
better than my cheesy one.
I've got like a.
I got up earlier than you forfree, like something like that
that's not bad.
And then a serious one I found.
I found this I have no idea whoshe is, so I don't know if she
is the Canadian curler.

(01:09:51):
Has anyone heard of SherryAnderson?
Well, I don't know, but I don'tknow if this would even fit on
a medal.
But volunteers don't get paid.
Would even fit on a medal, butvolunteers don't get paid, not
because they're worthless, butbecause they're priceless.
And I just you're terrible.
I've got a cheesy and then likea sentimental serious.

Speaker 6 (01:10:13):
But I got to hear what Alicia was going to say I
was just thinking, number onehype woman.

Speaker 4 (01:10:20):
That's not bad.

Speaker 6 (01:10:23):
And I have a repertoire and she is like the
best hype person for me and so,yeah, I'll personally give you
that medal.

Speaker 15 (01:10:32):
I wasn't ready for that.
I love that.
Thanks, Alicia.

Speaker 13 (01:10:38):
Well, I have a saying that I love to,
especially now in the summertimebut hydrate before you
dihydrate.

Speaker 4 (01:10:45):
Put that on the middle especially

Speaker 13 (01:10:47):
for all the water fillers out there.
You know we're the officialwater fillers.

Speaker 7 (01:10:52):
And that's something else that I guess people don't
realize.
You're standing out there alsoin that heat, for possibly four
to five hours, or cold or rainor whatever.

Speaker 4 (01:11:02):
Or rain yes.

Speaker 15 (01:11:04):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:11:06):
I think we ignore that sometimes as runners.
When runners come by and saythank you, volunteers, does that
mean anything to you?

Speaker 15 (01:11:17):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:11:18):
Good, then I'll keep doing it.

Speaker 15 (01:11:21):
Again, it might not be why we did it right, but it
just to be seen right or to justhave an opportunity to say back
to them we're here for you,Right, Because you're always
follow up with that if they takethat opportunity.

Speaker 14 (01:11:35):
I'll vote for that too, because even even even in
the course, marshall, just Imean, you're literally standing
there pointing.
So what more do you do?
You're going to be hypingpeople up so a lot of times.
Your antics I can only imagineKay doing this, because this
would be a riot but your anticsare going to be trying to get
people cheered up and after awhile of no response it kind of
does get discouraging.
You're almost like wondering ifyou should just stand there and

(01:11:56):
just keep pointing rather thantrying to.
You know, give people spiritsup.
So when somebody is like thankyou or acknowledges you, it
doesn't necessarily.
It's not that I need it as muchas I do know that it's helping
somebody.
So I'm going to keep doing whatI'm doing.

Speaker 4 (01:12:09):
Yeah, that makes sense.
That's good to know.

Speaker 13 (01:12:12):
So I wasn't a volunteer situation, but last
year my husband was running a10k and so me and my two kids
were out on the course, uh,cheering people on.
And I love making posters, Ilike, I love doing the cheesy
sayings you know forrest gump,all that thing but what I've

(01:12:32):
always seen like giving gettinginspiration from google, a big
one is like the mar star, right,like tap for a boost, and so I
made one with a big Mario staron it, tap for a boost, and I
had my son hold it up and, ofcourse, so you have a
five-year-old holding this signand let me tell you the number

(01:12:53):
of people that came and touchedthat star.
And then we got it like towardsthe cause.
It was an out and back, and sowe did the first set and then we
moved across the street and gotthe people coming back and just
seeing my son's face light upevery time somebody touched it,
I mean like a lot of people.
That is like the recognitionright, like just feeling like

(01:13:15):
people do see you and we'redoing that.
It's a silly poster, but likewe are, we're trying to help you
and so thank you so much forlike recognizing us too, but
like, man, you got this.
You're the one doing the hardwork, so yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:13:28):
Yeah, and especially with kids.
I get that.

Speaker 15 (01:13:31):
I think if I, if I just had something to share for
anyone who's out there listening, if you can volunteer, if you
can give of your time, like theraces that we participate in,
majority of them are operated byvolunteers.
They are not run by thevolunteers, right, there's staff
that oversees things, there'sdirectors that put these on, but

(01:13:55):
there are a lot of local racesI know Mike had shared, like if
he had to do it again, he'd wantto do a local one.
It's the local ones that needthe volunteers more than
anything and sometimes thoseraces could be in jeopardy if
they don't have enough staff,like they're required to have
certain things done, or certainstaff at stations, certain

(01:14:17):
things wrapped up by a certaintime.
So I don't know, I just love it.
I'm not pressuring anybodywho's listening, but if you have
the time, just give of it andremember what it's like when
you're running and someone isthere interacting with you.

Speaker 4 (01:14:38):
Good deal.
I think we'll let it go rightthere, kay.
I think that's a good mic dropmoment.
Ileana, kay, mike, steve,thanks first of all for
volunteering to help races go onthroughout the country and
thanks for giving up your timeand joining us here on the Rise
and Run podcast.
We look forward to seeing youat a race real soon.

Speaker 15 (01:15:02):
Thanks for having us Thank you Thank you Thank you
Caution runners.
The topic is about to changeright now.

Speaker 5 (01:15:12):
Well, dave, recording here, we had, you know, I know
we talked a little bit a fewweeks ago about, you know, the
last registration of the rundisney season, but technically
we had one more today and thatwas the registration for the
12ks of christmas featuring themuppets manana.

(01:15:33):
Did any of my friends heredecide to pull the trigger and
follow their way to someChristmas ornaments?
Nope, no, no well, no well.
Oh, I see what you did there,Bob You're funny, Nice, nice.
Yeah.
I contemplated this one for areally, really long time and I

(01:15:56):
did not pull the trigger on it,and I think I finally figured
out the end-all be-all to makethat decision.
And for me, as the person onthe podcast who has been
clamoring for a full Muppetsrace weekend in person, I think

(01:16:17):
if this would have been like thesummer virtual series where we
were actually getting medalsyeah I think that could have
helped me justify the price taga little bit more.
Where the fact that it's, intheory, glamorized christmas
ornaments, which don't get mewrong, I love christmas

(01:16:39):
ornaments and I love runningones, and if I could have more
Muppets on my tree I wouldMultiply that times four, plus a
beanie and a box of tea.

(01:17:00):
That didn't come anywhere closeto $200 for me.
And the fact that it was pushingto, you know, or it was right
around $270.
I think that's right.
Yeah, it, it, it pain.
It pained me not to do it, butbut again, like I've ranted on
here and on the stride sisterspodcast, I think the other X
factor would have been if it wasactually Muppets Christmas

(01:17:21):
Carol, then I think we wouldhave a different story on our
hands here.
So unfortunately I didn't do it.
But for those of you that didregister, really looking forward
to seeing you putting thoseornaments on your tree later
this year, and if you are stillinterested in registering as of
time of recording, you can stillregister for it.

(01:17:42):
So yeah.
If you want to start the musicand you want to light the lights
, head over to rundisneycom.

Speaker 4 (01:17:48):
Light the lamp, not the rat Exactly.

Speaker 5 (01:17:51):
No cheeses for us, meeses.

Speaker 4 (01:17:55):
Hey, something else you can do friends Add your
names to the race report.
Our friend, rob sent me somedata today.
God bless him.
Rob must lump numbers almost asmuch as I used to, but he broke
down the number of names on therace report for the upcoming

(01:18:15):
events and compared them toyears past.
And we're way behind.
I'm sure we still have the samenumber of people running, but
if you want to be part of therise and run roll call, get your
name on that race report.
And we've only got two weekstill we're at Disneyland and we

(01:18:37):
got.
I said early in the show in theepisode I forget where are we
towards?
Uh, marathon weekend now, about20 weeks away.
Yeah, 20 weeks, 20, yep.
So for the 5k, the alien shirtsare still on sale.
I haven't talked to alec for awhile to see how sales are going
on that.
But I have seen talked to Alecfor a while to see how sales are

(01:18:58):
going on that.
I have seen some of our friendsmaking Facebook posts about
getting their shirts or gettingtheir alien headbands.
It's going to be a good time,guys.
It's going to be enjoyable.
That's out there.
That information is at the topof the Facebook group, pinned to
the featured section.
Let's see what otherannouncements do we have?

Speaker 5 (01:19:19):
yeah, actually I have a delicious announcement that I
would like to uh the chat abouthere uh, I know we've
referenced it a couple of timeshere on the episode already, but
you know, just like howdisneyland, halloween is right
around the corner, so is bird inhand, and I know I talked last
week about how we are movingforward with a post-race
celebration at the Shady Maple,smorgasburg the evening after

(01:19:44):
the race for a post-race dinner.
I have been in contact withShady Maple and we are going to
be able to get a groupreservation because, believe it
or not, we're up to 60 peoplefor this post-race gathering,
which is absolutelymind-boggling.
So, for those of you that didfill out that interest form that

(01:20:07):
I posted a couple of weeks ago,stay tuned to your inboxes.
We are working on a way to helpsolidify payment for this meal,
since they are going to put usin as a large group.
So John and I are working outthose details right now.
So, again, just stay tuned toyour email inboxes in terms of

(01:20:28):
how to pay for that coming up,and we cannot wait to see
everyone in Lancaster County injust a few weeks.

Speaker 7 (01:20:35):
We need to do like you said, greg one, one personal
payment, not 60 individual.

Speaker 5 (01:20:41):
Correct.
Yep, so we're we're trying tofigure out a way to make that as
easy as possible for everyone,so we hopefully we'll have that
information to you all veryshortly.

Speaker 4 (01:20:49):
Yeah, and if I'm going to be totally candid, you
know I am excited to see myfriends, but I can't participate
in the half marathon, so thereal reason I'm going up there
is to go to the smorgasbord.
All right.
You'll be competing in thathalf marathon, that's not true,
but I am looking forward to that.

Speaker 9 (01:21:10):
That's going to be a lot of fun.
Caution runners.
Change of topic ahead.

Speaker 4 (01:21:16):
We've got a returning friend this week our pal Mark
Lane-Hulbert, jeff Galloway,pacer, coordinator for the Tampa
Area Galloway Runners, host ofthe Running Anthropologist
podcast, an all-around good guy,is back with us, mark, welcome

(01:21:41):
back.
It's always great to see you,my friend.

Speaker 17 (01:21:43):
Well, thanks, Bob, and I love the Rise and Run crew
and I'm so happy to get achance to talk to you all again.

Speaker 4 (01:21:50):
That's terrific.
Now we've got a couple ofthings we'd like to talk about
tonight, Mark, but let's startwith this one.
You hit me up with a note.
Well, it's been a little while,and we held off till now, but
during this year's BostonMarathon, you were a guide for
an athlete.
Tell us about it, please.

Speaker 17 (01:22:11):
Yeah, I was, and you know that was kind of the
culmination.
You know Boston's always a bigone but leading into Boston,
I've also had the chance toguide a few runners
international runners in NewYork and at Disney.
We guided this past year withAchilles.

Speaker 4 (01:22:31):
Kids.

Speaker 17 (01:22:33):
And in Boston.
Boston was kind of a lastminute thing.
I was lucky, I was kind of in agood marathon shape because of
Disney and Gasparilla and all ofour local events.
And, unfortunately, a gentlemanfrom up north, right on the
border of Canada andMassachusetts, his guide was

(01:22:55):
injured, massachusetts, hisguide was injured and he, they
reached out and they, they said,you know, could you, could you
guide in about a week from nowat Boston, and I, I was
available, I made myselfavailable and we, we had a
wonderful experience.
Just a just such a thoughtfuland grateful individual that

(01:23:17):
inspired me from the moment Imet him until, uh, until we
finished.
Uh, he had such so many neatstories in terms of how he uh
came upon running and was ableto to run, um as a blind, uh
blind runner, who's also um,he's also profoundly deaf.

(01:23:38):
You know challenges, butchallenges but you wouldn't tell
, because he was such a stalwartrunner and so positive and he
stuck right on course and I gavehim a few pointers and was kind
of there to get him water andstuff like that.
But for the most part we juststayed right in the middle of
the course and let everyone elserun around us.

(01:23:59):
So that was our strategy.

Speaker 7 (01:24:02):
Okay.
So when you said you madeyourself available, were you
already in Boston?
Or did they call you and say,okay, we got a spot for you to
run in Boston.

Speaker 17 (01:24:13):
That's right.
So yeah, I was in Florida, herein Tampa Bay, and a little bit
over a week they gave me and youknow there were still flights,

(01:24:34):
the problem, as probably youguys know, and other listeners
may know it is incredibly hardto get a place to stay if you
want to sleep the night beforeBoston, which I did, good plan.
So I told him you know you'regoing to have to figure that out
for me and fortunately Dennis,the fellow who I was guiding he
had a room that he wanted toshare and it was not there with
his family.
So we woke up and we weretogether and we walked to the
departure point together and wewere together the whole day.

(01:24:56):
So that really worked out well.

Speaker 6 (01:24:58):
Very cool.
Had you run Boston before this,or was this your first time?

Speaker 17 (01:25:03):
This was my first time, so I didn't know, that,
yes, I've qualified in the pastin my 20s and in my 30s but just
for various reasons, mostlyfinancial and work, you know
just never being at the righttime and having the resources to
do so.
Now I'm old and I have more ofthe resources, but I haven't

(01:25:26):
qualified in a few years.
So this was a great opportunityfor me to actually to be in
Boston too.

Speaker 6 (01:25:33):
Yeah, what a rewarding experience to get to
not only do that now but alsohelp somebody else.

Speaker 17 (01:25:40):
Yeah, it truly was.
You know, the one thing thatpeople don't talk a lot about
but is really present whenyou're there is that feeling of
connection to others who are,you know, have worked so hard to
get to Boston, including Dennisand to see them able to run and

(01:26:00):
being there is such a joy.
My childhood running mentor'sname is also Mark Mark Bauman
and he has the world streakworld marathon run streak for
Boston, so we got to see him runhis 56th Boston in a row and

(01:26:22):
he's just the most humble,thoughtful guy.
So he had dinner with Dennis andI and then he was the starter
for the elite races, so we gotto hang out with him by the
starter tent and then we got tosee him at the finish when he
was done as well.
So that was a really coolexperience.

Speaker 4 (01:26:44):
Alicia, he started way before you were born.
That's very true, I thinkstarted before John was born too
, I think, john what year again,I'm sorry, 56, 56 years.

Speaker 7 (01:26:52):
Yeah, 56 years ago.
Yeah, it's close, I'm gettingclose, bob October, october.
Well I'll ago.
Yeah, it's close, I'm gettingclose, bob October.

Speaker 4 (01:27:01):
Well I'll tell you this You're going to catch him.

Speaker 17 (01:27:05):
John.
Well, if it's any consolation.
Back then you said all youneeded was a note from your
coach.
You know he was finishing highschool and needed a note from
his coach to say he could runthat far and he could run fast.

Speaker 4 (01:27:21):
Yeah yeah.
The cutoff times are, I don'twant to say, relatively new, but
they've occurred.
In my lifetime, a lot of thingshave occurred in my lifetime.

Speaker 17 (01:27:33):
Yeah, I don't know what year they instituted that,
but I do remember they seemed tobe a lot.
They were a lot easier when Iwas starting running 25 years
ago than they are today, that'sfor sure.

Speaker 4 (01:27:47):
Yeah, I used to joke that if I lived to be 120, I'd
eventually, and then I found outthat the times stopped going up
at like 70 or 75 or somethingand that's it.
No more slack after that.
Just anyway.
Hey, I'm kind of curious, justnuts and bolts, as to how you
were able to assist a runnerwho's not only blind but also

(01:28:11):
really can't hear yourdirections either.

Speaker 17 (01:28:13):
Yeah, that's a good question.
Yeah, that's a good question.
In general, blind runners willrun with a tether.
So you kind of can feel and youpractice a little bit together
and you get to know the subtlefeel of giving directions.
And that was the case for theother I guess, four marathons

(01:28:37):
where I guided folks over thepast few years, including the
ones I mentioned, and one in DC,the Marine Corps Marathon.
In all those cases we had twoof us so we could kind of trade
off and you could relax a littlebit and be the secondhand man

(01:29:01):
or woman and that was kind ofnice woman and that was kind of
nice.
Now, in this one we didn't havethat.
But Dennis is unique in that hehe prefers not to run with a
tether, so you just kind of haveto stay really close, and he
can.
He has a little bit ofperipheral vision or a little
bit of vision to see you, so Iforget if it's central or

(01:29:22):
peripheral, but one of them hecan see, and he can also feel me
with my arm moving right nextto his, and that's OK.
In Boston they also have abright yellow line that runs the
entire course and he can makethat out a little bit.
So he's not completely blindand I think it would have been

(01:29:43):
more challenging.
The hardest thing for us, to behonest, is a factor of our
speed.
We start right behind all ofthe para competitive para
athletes, start right behind theelite field.
So, as you can imagine, you knowwe're doing four hour.
You know four and a half hourpace and people are just flying

(01:30:03):
for the first.
You know four and a half hourpace and people are just flying
for the first.
You know 10 miles.
People are just flying past usuh, because they're all doing uh
.
You know six and sub six minutemiles.
So you just really have to becareful uh not to go off course
and to try to make yourself seenuh by those, uh, you know those

(01:30:25):
speedsters that are trying toget ahead of one another.

Speaker 4 (01:30:28):
Yeah, my first marathon was 88 in Honolulu and
I was at that tender age of 35.
I was in the four hour groupand I recall a blind runner and
his guide had a bell.
His guide wore a little belland they were tethered and the
runner could hear his bell andit worked that way.

(01:30:48):
Oh, that's great, pretty neat.

Speaker 7 (01:30:51):
So you really didn't train at all with this person,
right?
So you just so.
Basically, what was it?
Uh, the night before the startline, just get a couple of uh
seconds together to try to getyour groove together how this is
going to work.

Speaker 17 (01:31:12):
Yeah, kind of, we did have the whole day together
the day before, so we did getsome time to practice and it's
interesting that kind of everyrunner every Achilles runner, at
least that I've known isdifferent in what they prefer
and kind of their, how they moveand are successful and being
able to to run, walk, uh, whenthey want to take breaks, and

(01:31:33):
how they want you to get, uh,water and fuel for them.
So it really is a there's asteep learning curve and, um,
I've just been very lucky thatthe folks I've I've ran with
have been uh with, have been sogood at teaching me over the
course of a few days and quiteoften they will come with their

(01:31:55):
primary guide and then I'll bethe secondary guide, so I'll
just watch and learn for thefirst part of the race or the
first few miles.
That was the case in New York.
The gentleman I ran with camein from New Zealand with his
guide, and that was the case inDC as well.
So I kind of had the benefit oflearning from others in my first

(01:32:21):
few chances to guide and Iwouldn't say that it gets any
easier.
I would say that, despite not,you know, running at full pace,
you know it is still the hardestI think the hardest jobs that
I've done.
It's definitely harder thanpacing, in that you're kind of

(01:32:43):
pacing and you're also having tobe aware of a lot more that you
don't usually notice or lookfor Things from dips in the road
to you know, people running toofast or, you know, trying to
cut in between you, to even tothings like like you know that
you wouldn't normally think of,like how to access a portalette

(01:33:05):
and cut across everyone andthings like that.

Speaker 4 (01:33:09):
Hey, mark, let's change gears a little bit,
because you've got anotherproject that I think may be
interesting to our friends.
You're working on a handbook ora book on running therapy.
How about sharing a little bitof that with us, please?

Speaker 17 (01:33:26):
running therapy.
How about sharing a little bitof that with us, please?
Yeah, yeah, it's kind of a funone.
It's a mini handbook we'recalling it and we're going to
come out with a longer onethat's a little bit more
practitioner and academicoriented next year, but this
year we're just putting one outthat is helpful for folks to get
to know.
You know, we're just puttingone out that is helpful for

(01:33:48):
folks to get to know.
You know what is running therapy, why is running therapeutic and
what's the work that has beendone in that area.
And you know, not a lot ofpeople know it started in New
York with Tad Kustambala, who isboth a psychologist and a
runner both a psychologist and arunner and it's kind of spread

(01:34:12):
internationally.
There's whole institutes andschools of running therapy
around the world, including inCalifornia.
We have one here in the US.
But it's basically just a wayto use running and therapy and
to combine them.
You know, for mental health,for getting you know recovery
from grief or loss, anxiety,depression, sort of our modern

(01:34:35):
you know our modern existentialailments, and how good running
and even running with atherapist or with a group, how
running can complement and kindof exponentially help in those
cases.

Speaker 4 (01:34:50):
So you've got the handbook.
It's either available or aboutready to be available.
Is that correct?

Speaker 17 (01:34:57):
Yes, yeah, we're going to drop it as an ebook.
It's going to be free, it'sgoing to have a lot of tools and
resources.
I put it together with fiveother running therapists who are
pretty renowned in their fieldsand different countries as well
, and just kind of share theresearch over the past couple of

(01:35:18):
decades and also give peoplelinks if they want to find a
running therapist or they wantto find a group or if they just
want to kind of use it on theirown and find some of the tools
that running therapy hasdeveloped.

Speaker 4 (01:35:34):
When can our friends look for that Mark?

Speaker 17 (01:35:36):
It should drop at the beginning of September, so
maybe by the time this is outit'll be available and I can
share a link with you all.
That'll be on a few differentwebsites.

Speaker 4 (01:35:49):
Yeah, we'll look forward to that and we'll make
sure to talk about it again whenit is available.
And then your longer academicpublication yeah, I can speak,
that's next year sometime.

Speaker 17 (01:36:03):
Yeah, that's the hope.
It's kind of like herdingcattle to get academics to all
contribute a chapter.

Speaker 7 (01:36:09):
But talking about volunteering on this episode and
everything that's going on.
You volunteer for Achilles.
What does that do I mean?
Do you guys train with theAchilles athletes before these
races, or is it just like yousaid?
You get the phone call, you'relike Superman, you put the cape
on and you're ready to go.
I'm sorry, that's Adam's job.

Speaker 17 (01:36:35):
Yeah, no, that's right.
Normally Achilles chapters arethroughout the United States,
usually in bigger city areas,and they meet every Saturday and
sometimes midweek and, justlike a Galloway group, they
usually train with a partner orseveral partners that enjoy
running together and maybe kindof match the same pace.

(01:37:00):
Some run walk, which is quitepopular and one of the reasons
that I got involved, and someeven only walk, which is, you
know, depending on ability level.
And a lot of Achilles athletesare wheelchair athletes and they
, you know, are able to entermany races more and more.

(01:37:21):
And a big contingent forAchilles are veteran athletes
who have disabilities and whoget involved in racing through
Achilles and get to travel andconnect and find other people
that are going through similarthings that they are.
It's meant to empower people toparticipate.

(01:37:41):
That's actually.
Their mission is to kind ofpromote personal achievement, to
lower barriers and live a morecomplete and fulfilled life
being able to compete inathletics.
So they kind of break downthose barriers and that a little
bit of that is, you know, whatI do in terms of helping to

(01:38:02):
guide.

Speaker 4 (01:38:03):
You do good work, mark.
You really do, not only withyour volunteering stuff here but
with the Galloway clan, andwe're just we're happy to have
you, we're happy that you'repart of the team.

Speaker 17 (01:38:17):
Thank you, Bob.
I would mention for most of usbeing run Disney folks that
Achilles has a growing presenceover Disney Marathon weekend and
they're bringing in lots that.
Achilles has a growing presenceover Disney Marathon weekend
and they're bringing in lots ofAchilles kids to complete their
first you know, 10K or 5K orhalf marathon.
So you'll see them out on thecourse.
They're wearing the brightyellow shirts and they usually

(01:38:40):
have the AWD.
Give them a high five or givethem some encouragement.
They love it and, yeah, it'sgoing to be fun having more
Achilles athletes out at Disneythis year.

Speaker 4 (01:38:51):
Sounds great.

Speaker 6 (01:38:52):
So, mark, if somebody wanted to get involved with
Achilles International, howwould they do that?

Speaker 17 (01:38:57):
Sure, if there's not one in your city, which would
be awesome, but there are not.
You know there are many peoplewho are not.
They have an online chapterwhere you can do some training
online and learn from folks thatare both athletes and guides,
and then connect with someone atthe next event that they might

(01:39:18):
need someone for, or you mightbe able to volunteer and support
locally with an event thathappens in your area.
You can go toAchillesInternationalorg and
find all the information there,which I'm sure you all can link
to later on.

Speaker 4 (01:39:34):
Oh yeah, Mark, thanks for joining us.
It's always a pleasure to haveyou here and we look forward to
seeing you at Wine and Dine.

Speaker 17 (01:39:43):
Yes, I'll be there.
I can't wait, I'm excited.

Speaker 4 (01:39:46):
All right, my friend Take care.

Speaker 9 (01:39:48):
Thank you, bob.
Caution runners the topic isabout to change right now.

Speaker 4 (01:39:55):
Good to have Mark join us.
Mark's a fixture at Disneyraces as a pacer.
Maybe you've seen him.
He's pretty quick so you got tolook fast, but he's a good guy.
For those of you going to be atDisneyland in two weeks, please
let me remind you that there isa meetup at 2 pm on Saturday in
the picnic area which is rightoutside of the entrance to

(01:40:18):
Disneyland.
Rise and Run shirt.
I got word today that Judy hasthe shirts and she is working on
getting them shipped by the endof this week.
I've mentioned before ourfriend Pamela, formerly of
Fluffy Fizzies, is working onsomething new.

(01:40:38):
I've got a little moreinformation now.
She's working on towels thatare scented to various places
throughout Disney World.
I got a couple here.
I'm going to take them with mein a couple of days and see if I
can identify what towel belongswhere.
And we've got a new affiliatewho's going to be joining us

(01:41:02):
next week.
Mona, who has products at herwebsite, mona Moon Naturals, is
going to be here to tell usabout them.
I think something that mayinterest our Rise and Run family
.
She's going to have a deal foryou, a special discount code.
We'll talk about that when wevisit with her next week.

(01:41:22):
We got wonderful I think greatnews on the response to the
fantasy football leagues.
We have four leagues Now.
I'm not going to spend a lot oftime talking about them because
the 48 people who wanted toplay know about it.
I just want to say this you I'msure have received an email
from your commissioner.

(01:41:43):
If you said you wanted to playin one of the leagues, you need
to respond to that email, or wemay.
If we don't hear from you, wemay need to replace some people
to keep the league properlystocked.
Upcoming next week episode 205.
I've been waiting for this onefor a long time A while anyway.

(01:42:07):
Since the beginning of thesummer, meb Kovleski visits with
us.
Meb Kovleski, american distancerunner, winner of the Boston
Marathon, the New York Marathonand a silver medal in the
Olympic Games, only man to dothose three things.
So we're excited to be talkingwith Meb next week.
And now, please stand clear ofthe door.

(01:42:33):
It's time for A Race Report.

Speaker 10 (01:42:36):
Por favor, manténganse alejados de las
puertas.

Speaker 4 (01:42:42):
The Race Report sponsored by our friend Thomas
Stokes.
Stokes Metabolic Trainingstokesfit slash
riseandruncoaching is hiswebsite.
The eight-month summerchallenge is wrapping up.
We'll have Tom join us here inanother week or two.
Meanwhile, if you check onFacebook, he's got a free
metabolic assessment availableto the Rise and Run family.

(01:43:06):
You may want to take a look atthat.
All right, let's go back to aweek ago.
Well over a week ago now, ontuesday, the angry chicken was
out running again for the finaltime.
Week eight of the angry chickenruns in Lowell, massachusetts.
Sophie was there a little warm,but she decided that since it

(01:43:30):
was the last week of the chickenseries, she was going to really
go for it, hoping to get under30 minutes and didn't.
But still a new PR by fiveseconds.
Congratulations, sophie.
Did anybody ever catch thatchicken?

Speaker 7 (01:43:50):
Rocky did.
Yeah, he's like greasedlightning rock Honorable mention
.

Speaker 4 (01:43:56):
Not really a race, but worth mentioning.
Our friends Rachel, kristen andTara ran back and forth across
the Golden Gate Bridge in themiddle of an intense fog.
Photos will show you that's.
One of San Francisco's claim tofame is the heavy fog around

(01:44:18):
the bridge, apparently the foghas a name.

Speaker 5 (01:44:21):
It's name is Carl, they call it Carl and it has an
Instagram account that I don'tknow yeah, who would have ever
thought fog could have aninstagram?

Speaker 4 (01:44:30):
well, I assume the reference was to the poet carl
sandberg and I, I don't know,I'd have to look that up.
The fought the let's see is it,isn't it, sandberg?
The fog creeps in on little catfeet and something's stealing
the land.
All right, somebody can lookthat one up for me.
I'm going way back since Ifinished high school 55 years

(01:44:55):
ago.

Speaker 7 (01:44:56):
He died before I was born, Bob.

Speaker 4 (01:44:59):
Sandberg yeah, I don't know when he died 67.
Oh, I was around Anyway,foghorns echoing as they were
running.
Wonderful scenery.
You go from Sausalito over tothe Presidio region and then
back.
Iced coffee at the end insteadof a metal or plastic cheese,

(01:45:20):
but once in a lifetime typething, and I'm happy and proud
of the three of them.

Speaker 7 (01:45:25):
The fog comes on little cat feet you got it.

Speaker 4 (01:45:29):
The poem the fog or something like that.
That's what he said.
The fog creeps in on littlecat's feet, comes on little cat
feet and gently stealing theland, or something like that.
Uh, from what?

Speaker 7 (01:45:39):
I'm seeing here it's.
It says it sits looking overharbor and city on silent
haunches and then moves on OK is.

Speaker 4 (01:45:51):
it is Carl Sandburg, though.

Speaker 5 (01:45:52):
Yes, all right, I have a different article here
that says the name Carl is inreference to the 2003 film Big
Fish.
The creator told the SanFrancisco Weekly that Carl was
the giant everyone was afraid ofbecause they thought that they
would kill or eat them, when infact he was just hungry and
lonely.

Speaker 4 (01:46:12):
Okay, well, listen, I'm proud of myself for
remembering the name CarlSandburg in the opening line to
the poem, so I'm sticking withthat.
Alright, If somebody wants tocorrect me they can, no problem
there.
Let's move to Saturday and goto Snohomish, Washington, for
the inaugural Centennial 100KRelay and Ultra Run.

(01:46:35):
Several of our friends ran thisrace and by golly they're here
to chat with us in the RaceReport.
Spotlight Ladies, how aboutintroducing yourselves, please?

Speaker 16 (01:46:47):
My name's Vanessa and I'm from Seattle Washington,
and I'm so excited to be here.

Speaker 18 (01:46:53):
Hi, I'm Sarah from Kalispell Montana.

Speaker 10 (01:46:55):
Hi, I'm Lace from Seattle Washington, originally
from Honolulu, hawaii.

Speaker 11 (01:47:00):
And I'm Shannon, live here from Los Angeles,
California, a very toasty LosAngeles.
Live here from Los Angeles,California, a very toasty Los
Angeles.

Speaker 4 (01:47:06):
Golly, I hope it's not as hot as it was last year's
Halloween races there.
Your lips to God's ears, Bob.
Well, thank you for joining us.
Especially, we got some oldfriends and new friends here.
Lace is a relatively new friend.
Shannon, you're brand new toall this, aren't you?

Speaker 11 (01:47:21):
Brand new to the pod , but not brand new to running.

Speaker 4 (01:47:22):
All right.

Speaker 11 (01:47:22):
Brand new to the pod , but not brand new to running.

Speaker 4 (01:47:27):
All right.
Well, listen, I've got astandard first question and I
love to ask it.
We find things fall intoforecast.

Speaker 16 (01:47:35):
We love hearing about these things and I'm going
to start with Vanessa and askhow did you get started in
running?
Well, I had a 16-year-old sonand husband and busy litigation
practice and I had gotten reallyunhealthy in my life, and so I

(01:47:58):
decided to just start walking.
And one day I decided to startrunning, start moving a little
faster.
And one day I decided to startrunning, start moving a little
faster.
And then, of course, Idiscovered Run Disney a couple
of years ago and never lookedback.
So, lace, how about?

Speaker 10 (01:48:15):
you.
I started running.
I was never really a runner, Iwas an Orange Theory, I was a
yoga, hot yoga enthusiast.
But I signed up for a 5k andthen started training and then I
was like cool, this is great.
Then I signed up for the 10miler last year the springtime

(01:48:36):
surprise 10 mile.
That was my first friend Disneyevent, started training for
that and never looked back.
It's so funny.
I was like you could not pay meto run a 5k.
And then look at me now and yougot a son running 5ks too.
And now my son we definitelyhave yeah, we've, I've gotten
him into running.
We're mostly walking, but he isso proud to say that he's

(01:49:00):
completed a 5k withoutcomplaining about being tired
once.

Speaker 7 (01:49:04):
Nice nice, I love to see it so Lace.
Since you're all in on this RunDisney thing, I got to ask the
question when are you doingDopey?

Speaker 10 (01:49:13):
Oh, we'll see.
I haven't trained for amarathon yet.
My furthest I've actually ranis the half, but I do want my
first marathon to be theHonolulu Marathon, just it's a
very special place.

Speaker 4 (01:49:28):
Okay, yeah, we'll talk about that more later.
Sarah, how about you?
How'd you get started?

Speaker 18 (01:49:36):
You know, running was always something that I
thought looked interesting, butI never actually started doing
it.
I'm not sure why, but then Ihad been a Disney cast member
and would see, you know, the runDisney weekends.
And then, after I left Disney,a friend of mine who was still a
cast member convinced me thatthe Tinkerbell Half Marathon

(01:50:00):
would be a great way to finallyget to Disneyland, because I had
only been to Worlds.
So I signed up for that.
And then it was way back in2014 when the Challenge medal
had the Walt and Mickey statueon it.
And if you ran that year theCoast to Coast Challenge, and

(01:50:23):
that year, if you ran Tinkerbelland princess, instead of the
standard black and red metal,you got a pink and purple coast
to coast metal.
Um, and that was verymotivating to me.
So I also signed up for theprincess half that year, um, and
ran those two half marathonsand really enjoyed it, um, but

(01:50:46):
also got injured so I kind offell out of running for a little
while.
But after COVID the run, disneybug bit me again and now I'm
back.

Speaker 4 (01:50:57):
We're glad you got bit by that bug, Shannon.
How about you, my friend?

Speaker 11 (01:51:01):
Well, I'm the veteran of the group, so this is
my 20th year of running.
I used to dream about runningbefore I started running, so I
don't fit into your categories,bob, but I literally had a dream
and woke up in my West Sideapartment 21 years ago and

(01:51:22):
strapped on horrible Nike shoesand ran out the door and
immediately got shin splints.
But in all, kidding aside, Iheard about this team called the
LA Lakers, and the LA Lakersactually started with Jeff
Galloway and practiced theGalloway method, and so that's

(01:51:43):
when I began.
I'm also a Disneyph file.
My husband and I were engagedat Disney and are now
celebrating our 25th weddinganniversary this year.
We just came back from Alani.
We're D23.
We're DVC, we're all the Disneythings.
And hi, my name is Shannon andI've never been to Disney World.

Speaker 4 (01:52:03):
I think we'll fix that, and congratulations on the
anniversary.

Speaker 11 (01:52:06):
I just want to say I did a duathlon at Disney.
I did not do the triathlon.
They did have a triathlon.
I don't know if you knew thatthere was a women's triathlon at
California Adventure.
I did not do that, sadly,because they've never done it
again.
Obviously there's World ofColor there now, but I did a
bunch of the races.
Sarah and I were at Tinkerbell.

(01:52:27):
I did a lot of the Disney racesand then I did um, uh uh.
Star Wars is my favorite andthat was kind of the last one
before they shut it down.
And I'm so sad they're shuttingit down again.
Um, because I was hoping theywere going to bring back the
marathon.
But I am now an official runDisney pacer, so I may find

(01:52:49):
myself at Disney World for thewine and dine.
We'll see.
But I've done a lot of.
Yeah, so I'm the veteran here,but I'm also an Ironman
triathlete, I'm an ultra runner,I've done more marathons and
halves than I can count, but Iit was just such an
extraordinary moment for it tocome together with these women

(01:53:10):
over the weekend.

Speaker 4 (01:53:11):
Well, that's fantastic.
I want to hear about it.
And, sarah, you put the initialreport in, so why don't you
kick off telling us about thisrace?

Speaker 18 (01:53:21):
Okay, Um, so the race is a.
It was the first year they heldit and it's held on a trail in
Snohomish that's about 30 mileslong, so it's perfect for 100k
out and back and you were ableto do it.
Some people did it as an ultrarun, as a single runner runner,

(01:53:50):
and then others were teams ofeither two, three well, really
as many as you wanted.
It was supposed to be two,three or six, but we ended up
with five and that worked justfine.
So we it was a lot of fun.
It had never been done beforeand so it was a little bit
disorganized, but that kind ofworked perfectly for us.
Because we were also a littlebit disorganized, but that kind
of worked perfectly for usbecause we were also a little
bit disorganized in a very goodway, and we all actually had not

(01:54:15):
met in person until the nightbefore the race.
Vanessa, I believe, had met allof us individually.
Well, I guess you and Laceactually hadn't even met in
person at that point.

Speaker 10 (01:54:28):
Yeah, we met over Facebook through actually us,
through this podcast Facebookgroup, because we had run the
Great Ferry Race off ofBainbridge Island in Seattle.
We were just chatting there andshe messaged me on the side and
was like hey, do you want to dothis relay with a bunch of us?
I was like never done a relaybut about to hop in a van and go

(01:54:51):
for a run with a bunch of womenI just met online.
Great Sounds like a plan.

Speaker 16 (01:54:56):
The Facebook group is so wonderful for that, and it
was just so, so great to meetLace that way.
I think I had posted about myexperience with the Great Fairy
Race and Lace almost immediatelyresponded, and then we had a
dialogue about our experienceson that race, and so I thought

(01:55:17):
she'd be a perfect addition tothe team.

Speaker 11 (01:55:20):
Yeah, vanessa and I met through Run Disney at the
Disneyland half in February whenher co-pacer dropped out at
mile three.

Speaker 4 (01:55:33):
Oh, that's not true.

Speaker 11 (01:55:35):
And I'd been a pacer with the LA Lakers for over 10
years, so I just knew what I hadto do, and the only reason I
was in that pace group isbecause I couldn't find my
Garmin in the morning.
So to all of those of youlistening who were like me 20
years ago and would not runwithout a Garmin.
I'm here to tell you that I wasable to pace without a Garmin

(01:55:56):
and I knew that Vanessa wasrunning too fast, and that's
when I fell in love with her weare pacing.
We are pacing the 240 group.

Speaker 4 (01:56:04):
Wow.

Speaker 11 (01:56:05):
Half if you're listening and want to join the
fun with two joyful runners injust a few weeks here.

Speaker 4 (01:56:12):
It is just two weeks away.
That would be a good pace group.

Speaker 18 (01:56:16):
I have to say, when Vanessa asked me to join the
team, she told me that the teamwas called the Joyful Runners
and I said OK, I'm in, that'sperfect, that's perfect.

Speaker 6 (01:56:27):
So we had a lot of fun with that.
So, sarah, you talked aboutthat.
It is a 30 mile out and backfor this race.
Tell us about the logistics,vanessa.
Why don't you start and tell ushow it worked?

Speaker 16 (01:56:41):
So what we did and actually Sarah was our
logistical queen how it workedwas there were essentially spots
.
They were about, I would say,five to seven miles in between,
where you would sign in andthere would be an aid station

(01:57:05):
there as well, and that waswhere you would switch for the
next runner.
And so we all did at least twolegs.
I believe Shannon and I didthree.
Is that right?
Yes, okay, and we got cowbellsat each stage on the back.

(01:57:28):
Oh, I saw that, yeah, which wasreally fun, yeah.
And then Shannon's friend,sharon, actually kindly agreed
to drive, so we had a van thatbecame very messy by the end of
the day, but she drove everyonewho was not running to the next
spot.

Speaker 11 (01:57:48):
Yeah, it was something that I learned in
Ragnar, so I've done severalRagnars and Ultra Ragnars and I
actually sent the team my list.
From how many years ago wasthat guys 12?

Speaker 10 (01:58:02):
10 years I had an ipod on it, so yeah, that was so
it had ipod charger.

Speaker 11 (01:58:07):
But, um, like I, I knew we needed a van, so I
rented the van um at c-tech,which was super easy, and we got
the.
For those of you listening, ifyou have a, if you have six
people, the odyssey um, I thinkeveryone here on this call can
agree that the odyssey was InRagnar.
You need, like, the bigger vanbecause you need a place to

(01:58:28):
sleep, but because this was justa day race and there was no
need for sleep.
Well, I needed sleep but I didnot sleep.
But you know, the Odysseyworked well.
I wasn't sure but it actuallyworked really well and I think
that's one of the things I wantto make sure the listeners know
is that if you're doing an outand back, the Odyssey is a good
van.

Speaker 10 (01:58:44):
That if you're doing an out and back, the Odyssey is
a good van.
I will say, our van was full ofsnacks.
We had all different kinds offruits, watermelon, cherries,
and then among all of that wasdifferent kinds of jerkies and
chips.
It was literally every pit stopthat we did, or where we're
waiting for the next runner tocome back.

(01:59:06):
I was just slowly just munchingon things.
I was like I don't think I'meating enough or running enough
to account for all the snacksthat we have.

Speaker 11 (01:59:16):
It was a farmer's market too like it was a
farmer's market at one of thestops, which was really helpful
oh nice, that's nice, was it?
You, sarah, that got the umlemonade.
There was one of our teammatesthat got the lemonade.

Speaker 18 (01:59:26):
Yeah, we actually ran through the farmer's market.
Yes, we did.
Our fifth teammate, renee, whowasn't able to join us today,
finished her first leg there,and so she had just run seven
miles, and she was able to get afresh squeezed lemonade at the
farmer's market, which wasreally nice.

Speaker 4 (01:59:45):
I'm suddenly seeing Sylvester Stallone as Rocky
running through the farmer'smarket.

Speaker 18 (01:59:51):
And also real bathrooms at two of the stops
which was very, very nice.

Speaker 6 (01:59:57):
So not, I mean, you guys knew each other but hadn't
really met each other in persona lot of you.
Did you find it easy to figureout what each other needed along
the way, or was there a littlebit of a learning curve of each
person?

Speaker 11 (02:00:12):
Well, we'd spent some time over Zoom, so we got
to know each other.
Lace was our fearless jumper inher at the last minute, but I'm
sorry, vanessa, I didn't meanto cut you off.
See, we're all joyful, we justlike to chat.

Speaker 16 (02:00:27):
Yeah, I think it was .
It was.
I was really impressed and thenalso just enjoy time talking to
each other, which we all reallydid, and I just think it's a

(02:00:56):
really wonderful way to developwhat I hope will be lifelong
friendships.
Oh.

Speaker 4 (02:00:59):
I bet they will.
As you drove across in the van,could you see the runners?

Speaker 10 (02:01:04):
Yes, we a couple at a couple spots we could.
So every time we drove pastthem we would like roll down the
window and cheer and things,yeah.
So we saw there was a couplespots, definitely, and then also
too, it was such a greatcommunity of other runners in
there, like at every stop, youknow, we're cheering each other
on or as we were passing eachother on the on the trail and

(02:01:25):
whatnot.
It was such a great community.
And then, like sometimes we'djust chat like, oh, what leg
have is?
How many legs have you done sofar?

Speaker 4 (02:01:31):
my guy's like my only leg, I'm doing it by myself
yeah, one of the things I recallI I did one of these years ago
and in the van.
It was a road race so we couldsee one another and after we'd
make our handover point the therunner who just finished, would
you know towel off a little bitand then we'd head out in the
van and it was always achallenge to see how far we

(02:01:53):
would go before we found ourrunner.
And if you were the runner, youended up running too fast
because you wanted to get outthere.
Oh, wow, Look how far away.
Anyway, Uh, that's my onlyexperience there.

Speaker 7 (02:02:04):
Okay, so I'm looking at your race photo that you guys
threw up there.
I see Joy's there.
Oh, sorry, shannon, but youguys are all wearing cowbells on
your neck and there's differentcolor cowbells.
What do they mean?

Speaker 18 (02:02:21):
So the medals for this race were cowbells and at
each point along the way as wecame back there were six cowbell
medals.
So for each of the six legs onthe way back to the finish,
whoever ran that leg got thecowbell for that spot.

(02:02:44):
So there were six differentones that represented the six
different trail heads where westarted, and we each got um one
representing the last leg thatwe ran, and then everyone got a
finisher medal as well from thefinal stop.

Speaker 11 (02:03:02):
And then Vanessa, I think there was one.
I got one at the turnaroundalsoah that, so I had right at
the barn and vanessa had two,and then the, so three, two, so
there were actually sevenbecause there was one at the
turnaround I was, so I ran thefinal leg of the um of the 30.
It was like an uphill four milerun and I was very like then I

(02:03:26):
got a medal.

Speaker 4 (02:03:30):
Did you have to fight off your teammates to have the
honor of running the four mileuphill?

Speaker 11 (02:03:34):
I didn't know.
It was uphill at the time thatI signed up, Bob.
So I did the.
I did the first leg, I did theturnaround and then I did the
second to the last.
So it was actually a very goodendurance day and I have some
comments on that, if you'd like.
I didn't know if I was.
I haven't run a marathon in awhile.

(02:03:56):
It's been some years since Iran a full and I was feeling
like, oh, am I ready?
Because I was sick for the lastseveral years and it's now two
years of getting healthy again.
So for those of you that arecoming out of illness and
wondering, you know this kind ofexperience is a good way to
gauge your fitness.
So I did a lot of biking.
I took the Ironman approach tothis race and did a ton of

(02:04:17):
biking and it worked.
So I feel like I can run amarathon.
So, leaving that many hours inbetween legs, I realized that
I'm ready to run a marathon.
This was more difficult thanrunning a marathon in many
respects, because if you dobeginning middle end of any race
like this and have all thosehours in between, you risk

(02:04:37):
getting injured.
But I think all of that bikingreally paid off.

Speaker 4 (02:04:41):
Good deal.

Speaker 6 (02:04:42):
So being called Joyful Runners, and Joy being
kind of the mascot of this race,I always think of wins when I
think of Joy, so let's go aroundand tell me a win from the race
.
Shannon, let's start with you.

Speaker 11 (02:04:55):
Well, I got to say I'm ready for a full marathon
and I'm coming at you, Dopey.
Perfect.
I've always wanted to do theDopey Challenge.
So we'll see if I'm there at 26or if I have to wait till 27,.
But I'm ready to sign up for afull again and, like I said, I
think I've run over 30 of them.
So I know what I'm doing, but Ijust wasn't sure if my body was

(02:05:15):
ready.
So for those of you coming backfrom injury, recovery, illness,
do it.

Speaker 16 (02:05:22):
Vanessa, as Shannon correctly put, I feel like this
was an exercise in endurance andstamina throughout the day and
I, for my 50th birthday, I'mdoing a 50 miler, and so I'm
excited about that, and thismakes me feel more confident

(02:05:43):
going into that.

Speaker 11 (02:05:44):
Vanessa, you got this.

Speaker 10 (02:05:48):
Yeah, lace, how about you?
I think the biggest win isprobably just, you know, meeting
a bunch of new friends,learning friends.
I don't.
I mean, I started running abouta year, like a little more than
a year ago, so I don't have alot of running friends and a lot
of running definitely not a lotof run Disney friends.
So finding this podcast,finding Vanessa and the rest of

(02:06:08):
this team, is a huge win in mybook.

Speaker 6 (02:06:10):
Yeah, you're about to have a lot more I may have
given Lace a lot of unsolicitedrunning advice You've got more
than you can count now.
All right, and Sarah, how aboutyou?
What are some wins from theweekend?

Speaker 18 (02:06:25):
I think it was just such a great weekend all around,
and I think one big win wasjust discovering the camaraderie
between not only our team itwas so much fun being a part of
our team but also just everyoneat the run the volunteers, the
other runners.
Everyone was so encouraging, um, and I think my biggest win um

(02:06:50):
is just that, with all thatencouragement and all that
support, as Alicia knows, I'vebeen struggling to get to a 10
mile distance, um, and it's beenum something that I've tried a
few times and not made it allthe way there, and so this race
was actually the first day thatI covered 10 miles, um, and it

(02:07:11):
was in two legs, but, um, youdidn't know such a huge win, oh
yeah um, and you know, thanks toAlicia's support as my coach,
and Vanessa has been amazingsupport, and then all of the
ladies in the band like we'rejust so encouraging and the
volunteers were, you know, werepulling me along, um, so I think

(02:07:32):
that feels like the biggest winthat I finally made it to
double digits.

Speaker 15 (02:07:36):
I'm very proud of you.

Speaker 11 (02:07:38):
It's very exciting.
I will say that there were alot of Disney files in Snohomish
.
Um there were people talkingabout Oogie Boogie.
I will be there at the.
There were people talking aboutOogie Boogie.
I will be there at the end ofSeptember.
The Oogie Boogie nights havealready started here at
Disneyland.
So yeah, it's.

(02:07:58):
It was interesting to see allthe Disney sweatshirts and all
the comments about my joycostume and the blue hair.
It was.
It was really fun and I want toshout out Sarah to picking joy
quotes for all of us and aspecial shout out to our
teammate, renee, who's not here.
Who hosted our dinner the nightbefore and really was the one
who found this race and gotVanessa to bring us all together

(02:08:19):
.

Speaker 4 (02:08:20):
Thank you, shannon.
I was going to ask to make surethat we didn't.
We had one more teammate.
I wanted to make sure we didn'tforget her.
That's great.
Ladies sounds wonderful.
These are great events.
It's great the way you all cametogether.
I feel excited about that.
That sounds like fun.
Thank you so much for takingthe time, especially out on the
West Coast it's not really aconvenient time for you.

(02:08:42):
But thank you so much forjoining us on the podcast.
All right, let's continue.
On Saturday in Colorado Springs, colorado, for the Cheyenne
Mountain Run 10K.
Janie put the report in.
She did it for her boyfriend,gopal.
Gopal finished in one hour andthree minutes on this 10K trail

(02:09:03):
race A really good time, sonicely done.
Thanks for putting the reportin.
Janie.
Kayla did a sprint distance.
Young Life Triathlon in DetroitLakes, minnesota.
Amy was running in Nashville.
The Titans 5K left us this racereport.

Speaker 3 (02:09:35):
Hey, rise and Run friends.
It's Amy from Nashville callingyou from the 50-yard line of
the Titans 5K.
I'm a bird fan but this was agreat run Tough run up a bridge
down the other side, through thestreets of Nashville, but a ton
of fun with some of mycoworkers.
Hope you have a great weekend,enjoy this episode and happy
running.

Speaker 4 (02:09:54):
Thanks, amy.
Out in Roswell, georgia, theArea 13.1 Half Marathon and
Terrestrial 5K and 10K.
We've heard of this race before.
This is the one that last yeara storm ended it before it even
began.
This year Sherry was there forthe 10K and Amanda was there for

(02:10:19):
the half.
Amanda said they had athunderstorm for this one also
Lightning, thunder, falling treelimbs.
The whole ball of wax Stormstarted around mile five,
persisted until around mileeight.
One of the nice things is thatthe rain cools things down.
Despite the bad weatherconditions, the race was well

(02:10:40):
organized, a lot of crowdsupport, a lot of water stops
and the thing about doingsomething like that it's not
cool when you're doing it, butyou get great stories afterward.
Speaking of great stories, theShawshank Hustle 8K in Mansfield
, ohio, ran this weekend.
I've been wanting to do thatone for a while.

Speaker 8 (02:11:00):
Yeah, we've heard about this one before.

Speaker 4 (02:11:02):
It looks pretty neat.
Lori and Peter were there.
About this one before it lookspretty neat.
Laurie and Peter were there.
You get randomly assigned to bea guard or an inmate.
Laurie was an inmate, Peter wasa guard, Laurie dressed up as a
prisoner from the ShawshankRedemption, which of course, if
you haven't figured it out, thefilm was made there at this

(02:11:23):
prison in Mansfield.
Race was a little hilly, a lotof great entertainment on the
course.
There was a carousel in thetown square that you could ride.
A lot of water stops on a warmmorning.
That was good.
Before or after you couldactually also tour the prison.
Now Peter beat Lori, but Lori'sblaming it on the fact that she

(02:11:45):
stopped to ride the carouselduring the race and still almost
caught him.
Good event, Good report, Thanksguys.

Speaker 7 (02:11:54):
That's one of the best movies that I think was
ever made.

Speaker 4 (02:11:58):
Oh, it's an excellent movie.
I think it is the highest ratedmovie on the Internet Movie
database, which has you know,has movie fans rating the movies
.
I think Shawshank redemptionalways ends up number one.

Speaker 7 (02:12:14):
I always got to continue watching it when it
comes on.

Speaker 4 (02:12:17):
I haven't looked for a while.
That's a darn good one, I agree, john.

Speaker 7 (02:12:21):
Yeah, got some good quotes in it too.

Speaker 4 (02:12:23):
Yeah, let's go to Hickory, north Carolina, for the
Lightning Bug Boogie 5K NightTrail Race that Denise ran,
starting at 9 in the evening.
Challenging run on a bike trail, lots of ups and downs, tree
roots, it was muddy because ithad been raining for a week.
It was challenging but it wasstill fun.

(02:12:45):
Denise knocked out a secondplace age group finish and her
friend was also second in herage group.
Nicely done.
Derek ran the summer sizzler inAustin, texas.
Let's see, he was up since 3 inthe afternoon the day before

(02:13:10):
because he had to work overnight.
They took the family to thisrace which was at Lakeline Park.
His wife and son did theone-mile race.
Son finished second in his agegroup.
That's outstanding.
And Derek did the 15K and,despite being tired, also
finished second in his age group.
That's outstanding.
And Derek did the 15K, despitebeing tired.
Also finished second in his agegroup.

(02:13:31):
Good job.
The Mount Sneffles HalfMarathon in Ouray, colorado,
victoria and her mom did it.
It was Victoria's mom's secondhalf marathon ever.
It was Victoria's mom's secondhalf marathon ever and this one

(02:13:51):
was a PR.
So that's going to be back toback PRs for Victoria's mom.
Nicely done.
Beautiful views out there inColorado.
Weather was almost perfect,celebrated with pizza and a trip
to the hot springs afterward.
Moving to Sunday in Falmouth,massachusetts, the Falmouth Road

(02:14:11):
Race 7-Miler Part of a big raceweekend up there in
Massachusetts Activities allweekend.
Jake did it.
Jake stayed in a camp which wasbasically a bunch of Airstream
trailers, let's see.
The weekend started out withfamily races on Saturday morning
.
Teddy Teddy's been with usbefore on the podcast on the

(02:14:34):
Race Report Spotlight.
He ran with the seven andeight-year-old batch for the
400-meter run.
For the seven-miler they had11,000-plus runners.
Run itself was great.
Jake stuck to his plan.
He kept it at marathon pace sohe slowed down just a little bit
for the heat Courses along theocean very beautiful.

(02:14:56):
Entire Falmouth community comesout to support this one.
High fives, hose showers andcheers for seven straight miles.
Also a lot of friendly runnerson the bus and waiting in Woods
Hole, one of the cities.
Also Go to North Garden,virginia.

(02:15:17):
The Walnut Creek Triathlon.
I thought we had anothertriathlon out there.
David did this one.
This one was Olympic distance.
David did this one.
This one was Olympic distance.
Olympic distance is a 1.5k swim, a 40k bike ride and a 10k run.
Had a blast.
Not a PR got to race with hisneighbor.

(02:15:37):
Got to run the race with hisneighbor, which was kind of a
treat.
Water was a good temperaturefor the swim part of the try.
Cicadas and goldfinches, nicebackground soundtrack for the
bike ride, and even had a chanceto help a box turtle cross the
street.
I'm assuming that was duringthe running part.
Only downside to the wholeweekend was the heat and going

(02:16:00):
out too fast which folks do,which folks do and two well,
actually going out too fast andtoo far on his long run training
run the day before.
Good job though, david.
Over in England.
Anna did the Regents Park 10Kin London.
She went to see Blackpink atWembley the night before.

(02:16:24):
Blackpink anybody Blackpink?

Speaker 7 (02:16:26):
at Wembley the night before Blackpink.
Anybody, it's a K-pop band.
I just looked it up.

Speaker 4 (02:16:29):
It is, john, it is.
I had to look it up too.
I didn't know.
That's okay, that's cool.
If you like them, that's cool.
I'm sure it was fun.
They had a couple of beveragesat the concert.
Still went out there, took iteasy, got around.
It was four laps in RegentsPark.

(02:16:51):
Highlight was saying hi to thecamels at London Zoo on every
lap.
Oh no, we know a race that hascamels Plus our entry included a
tree being planted somewhere.
Great little race, reallyfriendly bunch who ran it.

Speaker 5 (02:17:09):
I think we all have homework for next week.
Everyone needs to come preparedwith their favorite K-pop band,
including Bob and John.

Speaker 4 (02:17:18):
The favorite K-pop what Greg?

Speaker 5 (02:17:20):
K-pop band.

Speaker 4 (02:17:22):
I only know one and I guess now two.
And are the boys from BTS outof the army?
Yet?
I only know one and I guess nowtwo.
Are the boys from BTS out ofthe army?

Speaker 5 (02:17:29):
yet I'm not sure, that's a good question.

Speaker 4 (02:17:33):
I know they have 100% enlistment in Korea.
I think it's great.
I think it's great that theguys did it All.
Right, let's wrap up the racereport in Edmonton, alberta,
canada, with the EdmontonMarathon.
Tanya and Dan.
Dan did the full, tanya did thehalf.
Tanya says she's really happywith how she did.

(02:17:55):
She's still not back topre-break pace, but she's
getting closer and closer.
Tanya, hang in there.
You just got to be patient.
It will happen, I promise.
And that's it, friends.
That's the race report forepisode 204 of the Rise and Run
podcast.

(02:18:17):
Well, friends and if you run,you know you are our friend.
I said every week we're closerand closer to getting back
together.
I'm excited about it.
I know many of you will see oneanother at Disneyland, while
those of us on the East Coast alot of us are going to be in
Burden Hand, pennsylvania, in acouple of weeks.
So that'll be fun and exciting.
We look forward to all of that.

(02:18:38):
It is not a Zoom week.
Next Zoom call will be nextweek Training.
Good news and bad news For alot of the country.
It's going to cool off a littlebit in the coming weeks.
That'll help.
Bad news numbers are climbing.
If you're doing one of the longruns in January.
Numbers are starting to climb.
Hang with it, kids.
Remember, it's about theendurance, it's about spending

(02:19:00):
the time on your feet.
You can do it and if I didn'tlie to you, summer training
equals fall PRs.
You ought to start seeing someof those come around in another
month or so.
All right, that'll do it, myfriends.
Happy running.

Speaker 5 (02:19:25):
The Rise and Run podcast discusses general
information about Run Disney andis in no way affiliated with
Run Disney or the Walt DisneyCompany.
Any information or advicediscussed on this podcast should
not be considered medicaladvice and should always consult
with your health care provideror event organizer provider or

(02:19:46):
event organizer.

Speaker 1 (02:19:47):
Rise and run.
Let the anthem be spun forevery heart that runs for fun.

Speaker 2 (02:19:52):
Rise and run From start to the run.
Together we shine like themorning sun.
Rise and run, we rise and run,we rise and run, we rise and run
, we rise and run.

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