Well, as per my previous post I ended up marshaling at the last race as Chris was ill, so I wanted to give an account of my day and a bit of an insight into the worthwhile day of a marshal.
First let me say I was a last minute marshal and in no way part of the huge task of organising the race. However as someone who had more access to pre race marshal talks and discussions than usual, I can now appreciate more just how much work goes on behind the scenes even up to the very start of the race. Lots of things like special tasks can only be set up on the day of the race and some marshals have to be quite far away and it is quite a logistical feat to make sure everything is as it should be as the first teams get to each checkpoint. Also bare in mind that Ivan and his team have often done the full course a day or two before hand to put out checkpoints. I know that after the races I am still in a lot of pain 2 days after, just another indicator of the fitness and comitment levels of all the folks at CCAR
As someone who has now completed 3 of CCAR's races, I am now doubly impressed at how smooth everything always goes from the competitors point of view. Behind the scenes, while it is not disorganised chaos, it is certainly very busy.
Anyway as for my day as a marshal, it was pouring down for the first 2 hours or so but luckily I was in the car and so had a nice hour or two on my own in the middle of some lovely scenery [http://www.barons-court.com/] stuffing my face with the food provided to marshals (thanks Joan) and listening to radio 2! I was marshaling the gravity carts and due to the format of the race, teams suddenly started coming from all directions. There where over 30 teams racing and the most I ever had with me was 4 but they where spread out all over the afternoon and so kept me interested most of the time. After about half of them had passed, I was joined by CCAR's by this stage "official" photographer, Shane, who provided some company towards the end when teams where becoming more sparse.
At one point I realised that I had left my cars electrics turned on and the radio and air running all day and knew that the car was not going to start so it was no supprise that it did not. Luckily the two of us got it pushed off the verge and the tiny gradient was just enough to bump start it. Its lucky that it did as we realised that had it not it would have also blocked Shanes car in.
Late in the afternoon I recieved the phonecall to confirm that all teams where back and I could head back for some lovely soup and muffins. Having not just raced I was able to actually taste these this time.
So all in all a very good day and an excelent oportunity to see things from the other side. I would greatly encourage someone who is considering doing the races but not quite sure, to give marshaling a go first. You will get to experience the brilliant atmosphere and general friendlyness on race morning and also see the kind of terain covered. You will also see other people who are no fitter than you (me for example) completing the course and having fun even though they are a good bit behind the leaders.
Also, to the folk who do the races, if you find yourself teammateless (not a word, I know) volunteer yourself as a marshal for the day. You will be helping to pay the CCAR team back for all the hard work and hours they put into every race. I know I also got a huge amount of satisfaction, just being a small part of the team and knowing that I had contributed in my small way to making the race a sucess for all involved.
Anyone wanting to volunteer - see the link to the CCAR website on the RHS of this blog
Mark
First let me say I was a last minute marshal and in no way part of the huge task of organising the race. However as someone who had more access to pre race marshal talks and discussions than usual, I can now appreciate more just how much work goes on behind the scenes even up to the very start of the race. Lots of things like special tasks can only be set up on the day of the race and some marshals have to be quite far away and it is quite a logistical feat to make sure everything is as it should be as the first teams get to each checkpoint. Also bare in mind that Ivan and his team have often done the full course a day or two before hand to put out checkpoints. I know that after the races I am still in a lot of pain 2 days after, just another indicator of the fitness and comitment levels of all the folks at CCAR
As someone who has now completed 3 of CCAR's races, I am now doubly impressed at how smooth everything always goes from the competitors point of view. Behind the scenes, while it is not disorganised chaos, it is certainly very busy.
Anyway as for my day as a marshal, it was pouring down for the first 2 hours or so but luckily I was in the car and so had a nice hour or two on my own in the middle of some lovely scenery [http://www.barons-court.com/] stuffing my face with the food provided to marshals (thanks Joan) and listening to radio 2! I was marshaling the gravity carts and due to the format of the race, teams suddenly started coming from all directions. There where over 30 teams racing and the most I ever had with me was 4 but they where spread out all over the afternoon and so kept me interested most of the time. After about half of them had passed, I was joined by CCAR's by this stage "official" photographer, Shane, who provided some company towards the end when teams where becoming more sparse.
At one point I realised that I had left my cars electrics turned on and the radio and air running all day and knew that the car was not going to start so it was no supprise that it did not. Luckily the two of us got it pushed off the verge and the tiny gradient was just enough to bump start it. Its lucky that it did as we realised that had it not it would have also blocked Shanes car in.
Late in the afternoon I recieved the phonecall to confirm that all teams where back and I could head back for some lovely soup and muffins. Having not just raced I was able to actually taste these this time.
So all in all a very good day and an excelent oportunity to see things from the other side. I would greatly encourage someone who is considering doing the races but not quite sure, to give marshaling a go first. You will get to experience the brilliant atmosphere and general friendlyness on race morning and also see the kind of terain covered. You will also see other people who are no fitter than you (me for example) completing the course and having fun even though they are a good bit behind the leaders.
Also, to the folk who do the races, if you find yourself teammateless (not a word, I know) volunteer yourself as a marshal for the day. You will be helping to pay the CCAR team back for all the hard work and hours they put into every race. I know I also got a huge amount of satisfaction, just being a small part of the team and knowing that I had contributed in my small way to making the race a sucess for all involved.
Anyone wanting to volunteer - see the link to the CCAR website on the RHS of this blog
Mark
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