Race Volunteering (Ironman Canada Edition!)

As many of you know, I just got back from volunteering at Ironman Canada, experiencing my first Ironman from the other side. I decided to go to Ironman Canada because a lot of local athletes here do, I was curious about the race, and it's within striking distance by car (250ish miles, or 400km for you Canadians ;)).

I chose to volunteer at the finish line for two big reasons:

1. I could enjoy the rest of the race and see the pros finish (if I wanted) without taking away from my volunteer duties.
2. This is the awesomest part of any Ironman race, and as a late finisher myself, I volunteered for the latest shift (7:30pm-midnight, 12:30-17:00 race clock... basically almost everyone ;)).

I think I also would have enjoyed one of those aid stations or pointing/traffic stations when I could make the biggest difference to an athlete that needs it (back half of the bike/run, I guess). If I could give everyone the gift of the feeling of crossing the finish line, I would. There are volunteers everywhere. Transition, swim, medical, bike aid stations, traffic, you name it. I'm pretty sure I saw in CdA there were almost as many volunteers as there were athletes.

I chose to arrive Friday night so I could spend Saturday in Penticton and not have to drive. I made my hotel arrangements late and didn't have a ton of choices close by, but 1.5ish miles (3km may actually be more accurate) wasn't too far to go. The week before I left (last week) I also found a paramedic volunteer still looking for a room share, so I offered my spare bed and she took it. This is my "pay it forward" for the rescue I got at Ironman Florida last year from a fellow athlete.:)

For volunteering, you essentially get access to the area you're volunteering in for the time it's appropriate (somewhere like transition that could be all weekend, but finish line is 4pm-12am, a few people earlier), some limited food (i.e. pizza), limited water (saving what they can for the athletes), and access to the volunteer banquet post-race (often held today, the day after, or even tomorrow).

Since they announced Ironman Canada won't be Ironman next year, some volunteers chose not to volunteer, which left parts of the race shorthanded. I talked to someone who was fairly local and racing who volunteered in transition on Saturday because they needed help. I talked to another local athlete who mentioned they had short numbers even for Sunday. :( Some people somehow signed up for multiple areas in the first place, which I didn't even realize was possible or how to do, or I would have done that in the first place. Maybe this is where being local has its advantage, or you just submit the form multiple times?

Sunday, I effectively watched the race from start to the final finishers. This required 2 trips to a coffee shop, 1.5 phone recharges, what felt like infinity rings of my cowbell, lots of chatting with friendly spectators/past athletes/people I ran into that I knew, and only 1 pair of gloves (also limited supply).

For the finish line, you are separated into a few areas. Some people keep track of finishers, some hand out t-shirts/hats, some people hand out medals, some people hand out water, some people help with food. I volunteered to be a catcher, where you (either by yourself or with a teammate) walk the athlete through the finish chute - making sure they get their medal, t-shirt, chip removed, water (if desired), finisher photo, space blanket, medical (if needed), food (if desired), and seat (also if desired). Mostly, you're there to make sure they are human and/or stay with them until they are human, assessed mostly by talking with them and looking at their facial expressions. Some races are less hands on unless you seem REALLY off, but this one we assisted a lot of finishers just to find a seat, get some food, and not get lost.

I was scheduled to start at 7:30pm but came on at 6pm. Since Ironman Canada is a one loop course for each event, there's long gaps, and everyone was out on the run by then (bike cutoff 5:30pm). 6pm is 11:00 race clock. In the 11:00-13:00 window you have a lot of PRs (yay!) and a lot of people who push themselves hard. This window is where I saw the most people getting dropped off at medical, usually for nausea or dehydration. 13:00-14:30 is kind of an inbetween zone, a lot of happy finishes, some first timers, and some people happy to just finish. Around 14:00 we heard the announcer say 1100 people had finished and 1400 people were still on course. Holy crap! 14:30-17:00 finishers are my favorite. There's so much gratitude. They are happy to be done, they are often first timers, they are outwardly thankful and living in the moment.

A few stories:
Two sisters finished right around the same time as each other. One was definitely more cooked than the other, but the other was in her own world in another way. So similar, yet so different. ;)

One guy was so thankful for his PR he put his arms around the two volunteers (myself and another) and kissed us on the cheek. ;)

My paramedic roomie shared a photo of someone who had fractured their elbow ON THE BIKE and came in to medical at the finish line. Medical told her to go to the hospital, but they had to be home (Alberta, I think) the next day and said they'd take care of it when they got home. OMG.

At the 16:58-59 mark, there were 3 people within range. One of them made it. One of them came in at 17:00:05ish. A volunteer friend of hers at the finish line caught her and I think we were all going to cry simultaneously with her. They gave her a medal. The next one came in at about 17:02 or so, and that look on their face made my heart sink - but they finished. There were a few others that were walking down as I was walking back to my hotel that hadn't been swept yet. So close. I wasn't expecting the heartbreak to hit me so hard, but the emotion of a long day combined with having chased the cutoff before myself... overwhelming.

It was fascinating to watch people change as they got food in them, it really put things in perspective for me as an athlete myself and should help my own self-awareness at the finish line. I also always saw the finish line catchers as a necessary obstacle between me and my family, but you can bet I'll slow down next time.

Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. My feet hurt, I was exhausted, I was cowbelled out, but I was satisfied. Just not as satisfied as if I'd finished the race, not many things compare to that. ;)

Congratulations to all finishers, and thank you to fellow volunteers and spectators. :D

Thank you for that! I really wanted to know what it was like from the other side for you. I would love to do that someday. I hear getting housing there is the big challenge, although maybe all that will change now. Anyway, it sounds like you had a great experience.

Thanks for volunteering :)

I volunteered on the run course in LP in 2011. It gave me an entirely new appreciation for the volunteers. We were out there for 6 hours in the sun and I was exhausted afterwards.

The volunteers work really hard.

I actually think that all racers should volunteer and give back at least once :)

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Originally Posted by salsabike

Thank you for that! I really wanted to know what it was like from the other side for you. I would love to do that someday. I hear getting housing there is the big challenge, although maybe all that will change now. Anyway, it sounds like you had a great experience.

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If you are willing to drive, you can find a lot of stuff within 20-30 miles, or even 5-10 minutes of driving, even up to the last minute, in the $100-200/night range. I wanted to be within relative walking distance, which really narrowed my choices. If I was going to be an athlete, I'd book way in advance to get even closer. Lots of condos, home stays, and actually a fair number of small hotel/motels - I think a lot of them do not have websites, so if you are willing to let your fingers do the walking, I'd start near the course and dial my way out from there. ;)

I'd expect the race to shrink next year, but Penticton is a great area. Apparently they are also looking at changing the bike and/or run courses, which has its upsides and downsides.

We'll see where and when Ironman Canada ends up... they say they are trying to keep it in late August-early September, but it will probably not be the same weekend to avoid competing with Louisville and (if they are smart) Challenge.

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Originally Posted by sgf726

Thanks for volunteering :)

I volunteered on the run course in LP in 2011. It gave me an entirely new appreciation for the volunteers. We were out there for 6 hours in the sun and I was exhausted afterwards.

The volunteers work really hard.

I actually think that all racers should volunteer and give back at least once :)

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It is surprisingly tiring - standing on pavement all day (only moving every once in a while), keeping a positive attitude, rarely taking a break.

I also agree on athletes volunteering. I have volunteered at other races before, but never at Ironman. I always try to thank the volunteers when I'm racing, but a little empathy goes a long way. Incentivizing it helps, but since a lot of athletes aren't local it's a significant time/money commitment. One of the local athletes I talked to said a lot of people in the area alternate volunteering and racing every other year, so they still get pretty much guaranteed registration if they want it.

I definitely would volunteer if I wasn't racing in Coeur d'Alene, but at this rate it'll be a while. ;)

Hey Colby! I wish we had a chance to meet on the weekend. I had no wi-fi access as I was camping so didn't see where you would be volunteering.
MY husband and I were in the massage tent from 6-10pm.
Our other friends volunteered at the last minute in transition to help with bike drop off, I think they were really scrambling for volunteers, a friend was a volunteer Cpt and basically the day of the race he said to call him and let him know where we wanted to be placed he had room everywhere.
It would be interesting to talk to a racer to see if they noticed the scrambling or not.
I was really happy to help out but I must say I wouldn't choose the massage tent again.
There were basically 2 jobs in the massage tent,
1) an escort which means you walk the athlete to the first available massage table and back and generally fetch things.
2) Massage
I expected to be an escort as although I am a PT I thought they would want only registered MT, turns out no..just a live body was good enough..the gal actually said I'm an accountant I massage.. so both my husband ( who is an urban planner and I were massaging ...yikes!
The massage was simple flushing and every one of the athletes were grateful, the problem was at that time of day really what many of the athletes needed was the medical tent. There was not a good triage set up until a friend who is a nurse decided she better do that rather than massage.
I don't know if the lack of good triage was due to poor organization generally or just not enough volunteers.
All of that being said I was super happy to be there, we had fun and I hope we helped those athletes who crossed our path.
And one last tip for those that may decide to use the massage tent post IM...please please if you peed in/on your gear be so kind as to rinse well before expecting someone to touch you or your gear...we really can smell it...Yeech.

Interesting. A lot of the finish line catching/triage is at the athlete or catcher's discretion, only the most obvious or people who request medical end up in medical. For the most part, we try to give them food, liquids, and either release them if they are coherent OR hand them off to a friend/family member with some instructions to keep an eye on them. Sometimes, 5 minutes after they were totally lucid, they lose it again, but we've gone on to the next racer. Obviously that's when they end up heading to massage. ;)

Maybe some kind of questions that finish line catchers could ask athletes to help get them to medical would help - a few simple questions like "when did you last eat" "when did you last pee" "when did you last drink" "do you feel sick to your stomach". At least someone was there to catch them later, it's nice to see volunteers filling a hole.

I don't think many athletes know when they should be in medical or not, unless it's really obvious (I fell, I can't keep food down, I am going to pass out in 3, 2, 1). It might even be handy to give the athletes something before they race about what to expect at the finish line.

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Originally Posted by salsabike

Thank you for that! I really wanted to know what it was like from the other side for you. I would love to do that someday. I hear getting housing there is the big challenge, although maybe all that will change now. Anyway, it sounds like you had a great experience.

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I was one of those people who was still on the course. Thank you for hanging in there and staying until the end. I was turning the corner from Main street and could hear the final finisher. It really is amazing to have the support from strangers at the end of the race.... ok, maybe it was more like an event - but still great to see everyone who was still out there. I finished (and I do think of it as finishing) at 12:18 (unofficially).

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Originally Posted by ard2012

I was one of those people who was still on the course. Thank you for hanging in there and staying until the end. I was turning the corner from Main street and could hear the final finisher. It really is amazing to have the support from strangers at the end of the race.... ok, maybe it was more like an event - but still great to see everyone who was still out there. I finished (and I do think of it as finishing) at 12:18 (unofficially).

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Congratulations, ard2012, you are an Ironman. :D