Best Long Course volunteer assignment
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Anton posted 9 weeks ago.
Best? Catcher or wet suit stripper. Worst...clean up! But really...on race day there isn't a bad volunteer job at an Ironman.
And I think it's great that you want to volunteer...I think any past Ironman or wanna be IMer should. It's a great way to give back and/or catch the bug!
"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?" - Vincent Van Gogh
My Blog: http://anton.trifuel.net
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kylie posted 9 weeks ago.
I always though some jobs would be better than others... then I got up close and personal with Ironman Arizona by volunteering to help a kids group go for the experience. With a connection to the race, as a group we ended up right by the strippers, and then working a bike aid station, and then working some crowd control on the run. And all of it was awesome. Any position can turn into a long day, but then you just get to enjoy it more!
And thanks for volunteering!
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PJT posted 9 weeks ago.
Aside from teardown b/c I'm not a night person, I think the only job I might avoid would be catching bikes in the afternoon. (Some bikes do double duty as bathrooms during an IM).
Best: kayak on the swim or one of the bikers who lead the top 3 pros on the run course.
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kylie posted 9 weeks ago.
The guys catching bikes at IMAZ this year had rubber gloves on. And then you do get to see all the bikes up close and personal... and some are so pretty ;)
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kevinb421 posted 9 weeks ago.
I was a bike catcher and I say NO with a big N and a big O.
People release a lot of bodily fluids that the bikes tend to hold onto, its fairly gross.
I also was a finish line catcher which was a great job, I would for sure recommend that but you need a strong stomach to be a bike catcher.
"If your not going to win, make the fellow in front of you break a record."
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deepbluex posted 9 weeks ago.
I did vomit on my bike during a race once. The entire front end was covered in gatorade red tinted breakfast mash. It looked like I ran over a possum at high speed.
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Anton posted 9 weeks ago.
"gatorade tinted breakfast mash."
I love it...!
"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?" - Vincent Van Gogh
My Blog: http://anton.trifuel.net
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kevinb421 posted 9 weeks ago.
However, catching bikes was a learning experience. Every and i mean every pro's bike had a fair amount of vomit on it. I don't know why, but that just seemed interesting to me.
"If your not going to win, make the fellow in front of you break a record."
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theShiba posted 9 weeks ago.
kylie wrote:
I always though some jobs would be better than others... then I got up close and personal with Ironman Arizona by volunteering to help a kids group go for the experience. With a connection to the race, as a group we ended up right by the strippers, and then working a bike aid station, and then working some crowd control on the run. And all of it was awesome. Any position can turn into a long day, but then you just get to enjoy it more!And thanks for volunteering!
Whenever I take out a group of kids, I like to make sure that we are right by the strippers... :D
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kylie posted 9 weeks ago.
Yeah I kinda knew someone would say that ;) But they loved it! And we did take them to Hooters for lunch :D
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watrbg2 posted 9 weeks ago.
If you're female, the best job is job is body marking!
Also, the T1 and T2 changing rooms are good if only to see how fast the pros are in and out.
Catching is good too but sweaty people aren't that much different than gross bikes....
'In a world that tries its hardest to separate us from what matters, the Ironman helps us to reconnect with the pulse of our lives." - Scott Tinley
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Anton posted 9 weeks ago.
While it's true that catching gets you up close to some nasty folks...that is far outweighed by the whole panoply of human emotion that you get to witness and be a part of. Tears, joy, laughter, anger, frustration, enlightenment, giddiness, passion...you name it, it's there.
Can't remember the last time a rack of bikes displayed much emotion...
"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?" - Vincent Van Gogh
My Blog: http://anton.trifuel.net
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overcome posted 9 weeks ago.
I have only volunteered once and I was a bike catcher. I really enjoyed it. As mentioned before we got gloves but I riped about 6 throughout the afternoon because they would get caught on handle bars or seats.
For all of you experienced volunteers out there.. What are the best (or worst) volunteer jobs on a full Ironman course?