3.22.2011

Sole Runners LA Marathon Mile 18 Support


Sole Runners Mile 18 aide station
The Green Girl cheered on her fellow Sole Runners and friends at Mile 18 of the LA Marathon this weekend.

We set up the Sole Runners tents across from Century City Mall.

After tracking the weather forecast all week, I was one prepared Green Girl.


The Ready-For-Rain Green Girl
I layered my North Face Venture Raincoat with a disposable poncho. I also tied grocery bags around my ankles to cover my shoes.

The goal was to stay as warm and dry as possible while waiting for Jay from Tri2Thrive so I could run him in to the finish of his first marathon.

Our holistic aide station consisted of water, orange and watermelon slices, pretzels, Trader Joe's Super Red Drink Powder mixed with coconut water, and, of course, The Green Girl's Famous Salted Potatoes.


Mare Dibaba, Buzunesh Deba, and Amy Hastings running by the Sole Runners Mile 18 aide station
As we were setting up the tables, the first elite women, Mare Dibaba, Buzunesh Deba, and Amy Hastings, ran by.

The Sole Runners explained the 17:03 head start the women get to the non-runner volunteers who were surprised to see females in the lead.

Shortly after, we saw the first elite man, Markos Geneti.


Markos Geneti running by the Sole Runners Mile 18 aide station
I am fairly certain I'm in the majority when I say watching the elites run by is one of the highlights of being a race volunteer as opposed to a participant.

I spotted Glenn from The Running Fat Guy passing by our tent so he stopped to chat.


Glenn from The Running Fat Guy and the Green Girl
As the race progressed, it was clear hypothermia was a concern. All the Sole Runners did the best we could to make the runners who stopped by our tent as comfortable as possible - Sole Runner or not, we welcomed them.

One Sole Runner came through and a couple of other Sole Runners quickly sat her down, gave her some food and drink, and then proceeded to peel off her wet socks and shoes. As she got a breather and some respite from the rain, they coated her feet in BodyGlide and then put on a fresh pair of dry socks and shoes before they sent her on her way.


Coach Steve and Sole Runners warming up a cold runner
We joked that we were like a Sole Runners pit stop.

Another Sole Runner, Mike, made a run to the store to pick up a couple boxes of trash bags and we pre-cut head and arm holes for countless shivering runners.

When Jay arrived, he looked strong and appeared to be in good spirits.

I ripped off my grocery bag shoe protectors and we set off to the Finish Line so he could become a marathoner.

15 comments:

  1. Thanks so much Mary! You were great.. and I hope it was a little bit fun too? Maybe? Glad you didn't trip on your own heels having to "run" so slow with me! YOU ROCK!! (there's a cool photo of us.. coming soon to a blog near you)

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  2. Wow! I loved reading your perspective being a support volunteer. That is very cool. I was hanging out at Disneyland all that day. We got the rain later in the day. Cold and wet.

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  3. I love getting out there to support whenever possible. That weather shows you are one hardcore supporter! Isn't it incredible to watch the elites go by? They always look so effortless.

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  4. Any of those potatoes left? :)
    Watching elites run is very inspirational but at least for me also humbling.
    Glad you did not freeze out there.

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  5. Wow! Good for you...I can only hope to have people just as wonderful as you at mile 18 of my first marathon next month.

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  6. I wanna be a Sole Runner. You guys pretty much rock! So supportive. Way to go Green Girl!!

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  7. Thanks for the support! We gotta meet up so I can grab that water bottle ( you have NO idea how much that helped)!! :)

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  8. It was so cold and I wish I had prepared as much as you had so I could have cheered on the back of the packers at Mile 9. I'm sad that I had to give up on them due to the freezing temps. Happy the Sole Runners were the best race support out there that day. YOU ROCK!

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  9. wow! I love your aid station goodies : ) Not sure if I told you this, but I absolutely LOVE my sweatshirt! It's so soft, I put it on whenever I can: )

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  10. What an awesome day! I heard lots of people went down because of the rain. You are such a cool bean.

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  11. I'm with Heather F. so awesome to have your perspective on the race as an awesome volunteer.

    You rock.

    This gave me the chills: I ripped off my grocery bag shoe protectors and we set off to the Finish Line so he could become a marathoner.

    Freaking awesome.

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  12. I think there should be a special award for all the volunteers like Sole Runners who braved the elements and helped the runners. For the most part, the runners could warm up by running along. All you volunteers had to stand around and weather the cold and wet conditions. My hat is off to you!

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  13. You are an AWESOME volunteer for battling that weather for the LA mary! My Portland mary was similar and I felt so grateful for volunteers that day--I said thank you often!!

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  14. Oh my gosh - you are such a good person for sticking it out and volunteering during that monsoon of a race. I KNOW that everyone appriciated it!

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