Burning River 100 Mile Volunteering- Boston Store

All Decked out and ready to help those runners.

Last year I headed up the aid station at Merriman which is 93 miles into the race, we were late in the race and runners were thinned out but we had a fiesta theme and livened up weary runners as they made their way on through the final miles of the course. This year I was put in charge of a busier aid station at Boston Store that runners hit twice. We went with a Luau theme this year but don't worry Pedro was ready to play his part again and even sported a coconut bra!

I lined up more than 30 volunteers to help man the aid station this year and the goal was to have as few drops possible at our station while getting these runners through miles 56 and 60 as quickly as possible while making sure that they hydrate and eat. At miles 56 and 60 as opposed to mile 93 we wouldn't be out there quite as long as last year, but runners would be closer together earlier in the race and we would have many more runners since most of the runners will make it to us before having to throw in the towel.

I decided to get to the course about an hour before the fastest shot at the first runner coming through (or our best guess at it anyways). My first crew of volunteers was set to show up at the same time. Things got a bit chaotic as we set everything up and then finally settled in to wait for our first runner. My volunteers were awesome and really did a great job getting everything set up and ready for runners to come through. (Note to self next year get there 2 hours ahead of time to give yourself one hour where you can go through drop off bins and get everything organized by yourself so you know exactly what is there and where everything is. It was impossible to give tasks to everyone and keep everyone busy during set up and do the things I wanted to do to make sure we were organized. Bring an extra table, the set up here was a bit rough we had to put coolers and stoves on the Boston store porch) We had a brief scare when I realized we only had sheets to check in one mile marker, and not both but thankfully my trusty volunteers found a copier on site and got new sheets all set for our second runner check in.

It wasn't long before we heard the cowbell announcing our first runner was on his way. Tim Clement was in and out in the true fashion of a lead runner. Many of the front runners really don't need much help, they have top notch crews and they know exactly what they want, even 56 and 60 miles into the race. Everyone had assignments ranging from grabbing drop bags, checking in and announcing approaching runners, food upkeep and serving, drink supplies, traffic control and runner handlers doing pretty much anything and everything a runner needs. I had lined up three shifts of volunteers so that no one had to work too long if they didn't want to. We had a little chaos as the first shift led into the next but I tried to keep everyone calm and happy while we got things back in order.

Since I had so many volunteers I was free to help out wherever I was most needed. Totally fits my spastic personality and tendency to bounce from place to place. Next year I need to remember to wear something with pockets. I kept stopping to do something and leaving my cell phone and or camera in that place where I stopped and having to go back and find them. I also need to make sure my notebook has no loose papers in it. I had printed everything I needed during the day including volunteers shift duties, predicted pace charts for Meghan, permits, maps to other stations, etc but finding the exact paper I needed each time I went to the folder proved to be an exercise in frustration. In addition to helping out where needed the captain is in charge of policing crew and pacers. We didn't have too many issues this year thankfully and for the most part crew were very good about staying out of the way. Kids can be hard, especially when the crew loses sight of them. It sure isn't fun having to tell kids that no that food isn't for them its for the runners, but some one's got to do it :) Next year maybe we will set up a game area for kids to play in away from the stations activities.

As the night wore on I started trying to make sure everything was set for Salty to take over if I had to leave to pace Meghan. Depsite being pregnant Salty had graciously offered to take over for me if I had to leave early to pace. We got a call from Chelle around mile 70 and they were lost so we weren't really sure what pace they were on or when to expect a call. My family picked me up a chicken wrap at Applebees so I scarfed that down and tried to hydrate as well as caffeinate so I was ready to roll out.

Chelle ended up wanting to pace longer so I was able to stay at the station until we were all closed down. As it got darker we tried really hard to keep the weary runners going. My dad and one of my volunteers put out glow sticks to help the runners see the path at night. I walked with a few runners out to the start of Pine Lane to make sure they knew the way. We had a bit of a scare where we thought we lost a runner but thankfully he made it to Pine Lane and went on to finish the entire race!

We only had one runner over the cut off and he bowed out graciously with an injured ankle. All in all I think we had 15 total drops at our station. Since we are hit twice we will say 7 to 8 for each time through, considering the miles we were at I think we did very good. Paul offered to give our final drops a ride to the finish and after tearing everything down Salty and I made our way to O'Neil Woods to cheer for Meghan and start my pacing duties for the evening. My dad took my car to the finish so that I would have a way home at the end of the night.

HUGE thank you to all of my volunteers. You were all amazing. And special thanks to my mom and dad, my sister and her friends who drove all the way from Michigan and stayed at the aid station to help all day except for a few hours when I told them to go get dinner. I really am more blessed than I can even fathom.

Race Photos

Burning River 100 Mile Volunteering-Course Marking

This year marked th 2nd annual running of the Burning River 100 mile race. While I love ultras I am not yet crazy enough to try and race 100 miles, so in order to give something back to this community I love so much I try to help out as much as possible at this event. I think it is a great race that really highlights the amazing running scene in and around Cleveland and it takes a lot of people to get this race off the ground and running.

Volunteering efforts start long before the race weekend. People have to get together to make sure the course mileage is correct, permits have to be lined up, course markings need to be made, volunteers for race day need to be lined up, food and drink need to be purchased, shirts printed, medals made, and the course needs to get marked.

This year I helped out with course marking, captaining an aid station, and pacing a runner the final miles of the race. It was a lot of hours but I loved every minute of it.

My volunteer efforts this year started with helping to mark the course. I was approached by fellow blogger Meghan to pace her the last 8-15 miles of the race. Since I have never run that section of the course I decided to focus my volunteering efforts on those miles to get familiar with the course. The Saturday before the race I went out with DH, RH, and a few friends to mark from the Chuckery to the finish. Marking takes a long time since you can't really run and we try to have streamers always visible, so there is a lot of stop and go. But with our large crew we handled the section pretty quickly averaging about 30 minute miles.

Course Marking Photos


Most of our marking did not get vandalized on this section but when marking up to a week ahead of time you risk people tearing down markers. There was plenty of that this year and many volunteers had to go back all week to check markings and remark when necessary. Thursday night I went out with DH and we marked the towpath from Bath to Memorial on bikes then ran the trails to O'Neil to check on markings. We went so quick that we did Friday nights markings too and I saved myself the worry of leaving DH without help on Friday. It was fun to help and I was glad I got to see this section of the course so I would be ready to pace Meghan.

Fiesta on the Burning River Part Deux

Wow. What an amazing weekend.

I took Friday off to stock up for the aid station and to get my place ready for my family to arrive. I finished all of that just in time for a 3 minute shower and we headed to the pre race dinner to let my folks meet some runners and to let my dad go check out our aid station and decide on our plan for lighting everything the next night.

Got a call from Roy that he needed someone to go out and remark a section of road on the Brandywine loop as he had marked it on the left instead of right. For those of you not aware of Roy's dedication to having this be the best marked course around I think this is a good example of it. For him to be worried not because he was afraid there were no markings but because a small 1/2 mile section had the markings on the wrong side of a road which runners would likely run on the left anyways was impressive to me. So my parents and my sister drove over with me to remark this little section. After a bit of confusion we got ourselves aligned correctly and got the markings moved to the right and put new ground markings out as the brief but torrential thunderstorm from Thursday night had washed the originals away. Thankfully we checked the road all the way to the dead end as someone had removed the pie plate marking the turn. We got that righted and checked all the other turns in this section before heading to Boston Store for a quick restroom stop. There we met a couple who had rode their bikes to dinner and stayed too long and were now making their return trip in the dark. I hope they made it safely. They commented that the BR100 markings were keeping them on track.

After that we made a quick stop at our aid station locale and scoped out the planned set up. We noted that the area we would be stationed smelled quite foul. Nothing like the smell of compost in the wee hours of the morning!

We headed home and I finished making my stations signs as I enjoyed a glass of Merlot my husband kindly picked up for me.

Headed to bed and set the alarm for 8:30 in order to make it out to Shadow Lake for it's shutdown to grab a tarp and 10 gallon jugs from my friend Karen who was in charge of that station. I just missed the last runner but had fun catching up with Karen and some other TNT friends then got in a nice little hike with Karen and her son to take down some course markings. The runners were through her station quick but she did have one drop (She was mile 18.4).

I headed home after this with intentions of taking my family to Chipotle as my dad still hasn't tried it but arrived home to find my parents out walking (their cell phones with me in the car) and my sister starving. We hopped in the Ford and set out to find my parents. We found them on their way home from Wendy's and picked them up. I also wanted to head out near Chipotle in order to search for some chili pepper boxers for our aid station blow up doll "Pedro" at Target. KT and I got some Chipotle to my dad's chagrin (they had already eaten) and then we went to Target. No chili pepper boxers so we bought some white ones and my mom decorated them. We packed up the vehicle with all our goodies and headed out around 3:45 PM so I would have plenty of time to set up. I was worried runners might be in earlier than 9 minute pace since they were through mile 18.4 so quickly.

Turns out I need not have worried. Our aid station was set up and ready to go shortly after 5:30 and here I was with tons of volunteers and no runners. I was so grateful for every ones help. I even had a friend drive a tent and camp stove all the way from New York for this. That camp stove was a big help as we had many runners who would come through requesting something hot in the wee hours of the night and morning.

Volunteers Treetop, Happy, and B Bop that I had on tap to work later in the night came out early to donate a cooler and check out the site in the light and were kind enough to pick up a bike and go check and update course markings from 88 to our station. They even answered a distress call and went to help out at Boston Store before returning to help me out at 1:15 AM.



B50 and her husband showed up with citronella candles and helped to blow up the all important Pedro. B50 and my parents and KT worked on setting out food as AP, Treetop, Happy, and B Bop mixed up the heed, Gatorade, and water jugs.



Set up went so smoothly we didn't know what to do with ourselves. All my help was raring to help out the runners. Our station became the hang out place while members of the race committee waited for the front runner to come in and we stopped to take pictures with Pedro. PR with her broken leg came out and was in high spirits waiting to record those runners and kept the spectators in line for me and away from the runners food ;) So we just hung around anticipating the call that would come from Leo at mile 88 to let us know when we could expect the first runner.



Once we got the call we prepared for Mark to come in. It sounded like he was moving and I knew from Buckeye 50k that he would want to be in and out quick and would rather get his own food while we fill his bottle and his pacer attends to his needs. So Solar heated up some soup, we got the PB&J ready and labeled a cooler full of ice. My mom pulled his drop bag and we waited for Patty to ring her cow bell announcing a runner was on their way in.



Mark blasted through the aid station. His pacer Kam shouted for his drop bag and that he needed ice and water. I didn't think there was time to fill his bottle the old fashioned way so I dipped it straight into the ice water and twisted on the lid as I watch mark scoop a handful of noddles out of a cup and slurp them up. For those that wonder what the leader of the race has in his mile 91.3 drop bag apparently just red bull. He popped the tab and we watched as red bull sprayed out the top before he gulped down half the drink and grabbed a pb&j square and was on his way down the trail. In all the excitement I forgot to call Mel and tell her Mark had come through. I made sure to tell Vince to tell her I was sorry when he called to ask about the front runners.


We all got pretty excited at this point only to sit and wait for a few hours before the next runner came through. It was another SERC runner, Tim Clement and he was also through our station pretty quick. His wife and family were there and my second shift of volunteers had come in but my first shift were still there wanting to see more than just one runner.


The 2nd runner through mile 88 still hadn't shown up so we were starting to wonder about him. Leo had called to let me know he had wanted to stay longer at his station but his pacer had urged him on informing him he had 3 minutes to get out of there. I decided to make a quick bathroom stop and of course as I jetted into the bar with KT and Daisy we saw headlamps booking down the trail. Turns out this was a young 17 year old who was on pace to break the USATF 100 mile record for his age.

GH had showed up to take over for PR and my dad had headed home to keep my husband company until his shift at 4:45 started the next morning. A few more volunteers trickled in including Brett and we were definitely well manned for the number of runners coming through. I think some of the volunteers just came to see what a runner looks like at 91.3 and surprisingly most of them didn't look too bad!

The Race Director and Volunteer coordinator showed up and Tanya bless her heart remembered I needed two more medium t-shirts. She was so organized and on top of things. Not only an amazing ultra runner but a wonderful friend and hard worker. She put her all into this race and I hope she was happy with the outcome. I mentioned to them that we had a runner that was MIA who should have shown up a long time ago. That we knew he had a pacer but we were tempted to send a volunteer out to find him. Just as we were about to send out the crew our runner turned up. He was walking slowly and was ready for a nap. He wanted to DNF but his pacer told him to sleep it off and see how he felt in a few hours. He had over 8 hours to get out of the aid station and could crawl in and still finish so we got him a sleeping bag and set him up on the hammock. We found a long sleeve for his pacer who offered to help us if we needed her and eventually asked for a blanket and laid down with her runner to get some shut eye.

The top ten or so runners came through shortly after each other. I was amazed as my friend Dawn who was running her first 100 came in first woman and looked like she had just started running. She was in her sports bra and steam was coming off her body. I wish I looked that hot after 50 K let alone after 91 miles!

I loved that we got to individually help each runner and how each had their own little quirks. I feel like that is really what the 100 mile is made up of. All these individuals and their own quirky personalities and stories all come together with one common goal.

At one point a local runner came in and was sitting down and we mentioned he was 10th into our station but would be 9th going out as the 4th runner was sleeping. He exclaimed "Who's sleeping, Bonehead? Get his ass up I'll drag him out of here" He was a riot, even going so far as to try and find the runner on his way out. We had cleverly hidden the hammock behind a tent though.

I was worried about the 1:15 shift to come as it would only be 4 of us but luckily my sister decided to stay up and record runners numbers so the 4 of us could handle taking care of runners needs as they came through. Treetop, B Bop, and Happy really came through. They are all in CTC and I had never met them before but I was proud to have them as my volunteers. They were top notch attending to runners needs quickly and efficiently.

Eventually our sleeping runners pacer gave in and let him drop. They politely asked us to keep an eye out for any runners crew who might be going to the finish but I had my dad take them straight to the finish to get some hot food in them and get them out of the cold.

I could spend time talking about each runner and each individual who came through or helped in the night but I would be afraid I'd forget someone important. I think the major change we saw was once the sun came out. Runners looked a little bit happier and stayed a little while shorter. It was like the sun gave them a new start and they were ready to get on towards the finish.

One that stuck out was a guy who came in with his pacer and needed a rub down. He said he couldn't stomach any food but took us up on some hot chocolate and laid down on the hammock. We provided his pacer with "the stick" and with my handy roller massage tool and she rubbed him out and let him rest a bit. Happy noted he had been laying down for awhile and we talked to his pacer who was worried about him. She was parked at our station and hadn't planned on running the last 9 with him but I told her to have the finish line give me a call when she got there and my dad would come pick her up and bring her back. Happy finally convinced the runner to have some grilled cheese and we were able to give him a pair of gloves for his cold hands and send him on his way. Hours later his pacer showed up and hollered to me that she had made it back and her runner had finished. B Bop had evidently gone to see the finish and had offered her a ride back. I was seriously so lucky to have such wonderful volunteers helping me out. I don't think any of them realize what a difference they made out there this weekend.

Jen and Bloggister came at 4:45 to help and my mom, dad, and KT were there too. Lou who had planned to help ended up pacing his buddy in and coincidentally ran through our aid station shortly after 4:45 AM. Bloggister showed up early to get a run in and then did an amazing job manning the soup and pop for runners. My dad took charge of coffee and grilled cheese. My husband had kindly sent some turkey, ham, bread, and cheese and we were able to offer runners some protein if they wanted it. TRitt had bought eggs on his way and one runner did ask for an egg and cheese sandwich.

I think this far into a race probably everything tastes good or nothing tastes good. Most runners opted for grilled cheese, soup, and cola. A few went for cookies or gels and one lady stocked up on peppermint patties, stuffing her handheld pocket to the brim and having me squeeze a few extra into her shorts pocket. Jen, my dad, and I sustained ourselves on any of the grilled cheese that got burnt.

Solar and MT showed up around 7 AM to get in their run. They brought us hot coffee and I asked them both to pace in some of the last runners. I hope they enjoyed the experience. I am sure the runners were grateful. What male ultra runner wouldn't be thrilled to have hot female runners pace them in the final 9 miles?

I had the pleasure of walking with the young ultra stud Josh for a few minutes as he made his way out of our station. I was so happy earlier in the night when I checked in on him to find he was still going strong. I was starting to worry about all of my friends as we kept hearing of more and more drops. I jogged back to the station to check in on Fred. He was still feeling feisty and when I asked him if I could get him anything he decided a nibble off my ear sounded good. I laughed and pushed him out of the station, obviously he was not feeling one bit worn out. Flo you need to keep an eye on this one! Kurt O came through and was obviously in a lot of pain. I gave him our familiar greeting "HARD CORE!" and we ushered him out and on his way.

Eventually we got the call from Leo that the last runner had come through his station. Number 59 and he was moving well. Throughout the night many runners had commented that the distance from 88 to here was by far longer than 3.3 so I held out hopes that each of the runners would make it by the official 8:23 cut off but knew if they were there before 8:35 I would let them continue as I had an inkling the next aid station would be closer than 4.5. Luckily I didn't have to make that call and the last runner now number 126 came through at 8:13 AM. We got him out of our aid station as quickly as possible and on his way to the finish. 70 runners had made it to our station and only 2 dropped. I was disappointed we couldn't get them moving on towards the finish but at the end of the day it really is their decision, not ours.

The supply trucks were ready to get moving and they took all of their supplies out of there quickly. Bloggister, my mom, KT, and I tore the rest of the aid station down while my dad headed out to tear down course markings on the way to the final station. Bloggister did the work of 4 men or more and I cannot tell you how screwed we would have been without him there. Once we got everything loaded I headed to the finish line to find Solar and give her her keys and to watch the last few runners as they completed 100 miles.

I got to the finish line and chatted with the 2nd place 17 year old runner, with Josh, with some of my friends who were not able to make it to 91.3 but had come back to cheer on those runners who had made it to the finish. I got to officially meet Tony the tiger and congratulate him on his amazing finish. He had come through our aid station hours earlier with his pacer and they had both decided to toss their shirts on the way out. I hear sensationally red resisted the temptation to turn Tony into a human Popsicle when he went through 95 ;) I cannot tell you how great he did. When he came through our station he had a huge scrape on his shoulder and his poor pacer stumbled over his foot trying to help him. I can't imagine how much that hurt!

The finish line announcer made an announcement when there was 1 hour to go and I realized that Solar and MT were still out there with their runners and that Kurt O still hadn't come in. I still miraculously had energy and I decided I would go back out to check on Kurt and see if he would like some company the last few miles. I started my watch so I would be able to estimate distance to the finish for runners as I worked my way backwards through the course. I didn't have to go far before I found Kurt. He was almost to the road making his way up a very technical section or rocks. I asked if he wanted company and he said no. He was in too much pain. I cheered him on and watched to make sure he made it past the dangerous rocks and the sheer drop off. Then made my way back along the trail to see if any other runners needed my help.

I passed two runners and let them know the time and about how far they had to go, assuring them they had plenty of time to make it to the finish. Both turned down my offer to accompany them so I continued to move backwards. Shortly after I found number 126. He looked to be in good spirits and took me up on the offer to join him as he made his way to the finish. I had been running 15 minutes and we had about 40 to make it to the finish. Plenty of time! He said he was completely exhausted and was worried if he ran he would collapse. He honestly looked really good. He was coherent and talking to me like he was just out for a hike. We made our way through the technical rocks and reached the road as the rain started to come down hard. I knew we could walk slowly and still finish but I tried to keep my walking brisk and we chatted all the way to the finish. He even managed to pick up the pace and run in. It was very neat to be able to watch as he finished his first 100 miler attempt in around 29:42.

We stuck around for the awards and finally made our way home. I tried to stay up until David got home from work but fell asleep reading. I dreamt of aid stations and my blogging friends who were out on the course. I guess after being up for 30+ hours and being at the race for over 15 I had aid stations and running friends on the brain :) I took a 2 hour nap and then we played some games before sending my parents and sister home to Michigan. I slept like a rock Sunday night.

I still can't get all the runners out of my mind. What they accomplished is just so amazing and I was definitely inspired. I still don't think I want to do a 100 miler any time soon, but I can definitely see how one would get inspired to do one after seeing this event.

Hopefully I'll have more pictures to post soon.

Congrats to everyone who was involved in this race, the runners, the committee, the aid station captains, and the volunteers, it really is quite amazing how an event like this gets pulled together.

Some links to some runners and volunteers race reports, all of who did a great job summing up the weekend or will be summing it up soon! (much better than I have here)
Josh
Mike
Rob
B Bop
Bloggister
Daisy
Sensationally Red
Chef Bill
Really a Runner
Lou
Kim
Brian
Jen

Fiesta on the Burning River

That's right kids this weekend is Cleveland's inaugural 100 mile race, the Burning River 100!

No I'm not running it but I will be spending a fair amount of time helping out. Last fall I was out and about with some of the race committee running on the trails that would be incorporated into the Burning River course. This fall I'll be manning the aid station at mile 91.3. It's been exciting to watch as this whole event got put together. I know there has been a lot of man hours put into this and I hope that the outcome shows it.

I've been doing my best to help out since I know so many volunteers have given their time to help me in all my races. Plus I just love the ultra community and this is a great way to see everyone out there this weekend! Even though at mile 91.3 they may not be up for a chat we'll get them full of some grub and on their way to the finish.

Since mile 91.3 is obviously so late in the event we will be out there all night! There for the first runners to come through around 6:30 PM and there for those cutting it close to the 30 hour cut off at 8:20 AM the next morning. We'll be stocked to the max with Gatorade, Heed, Water, ice, pb&j, soup, and other goodies that the race provides us. On top of that our specialty will be some fiesta style food like tortilla chips and perhaps some tortillas and fixings. We'll be close to stores so we may even be able to fill special requests if given a heads up and if the stores are open.

Many people are helping me out so that hopefully our aid station will be the best out there. I can't thank them enough. I'll be there all night and will get to rotate my time between my SERC pals, my CTC pals, some ultra pals, and my family. That's right I even conned the rents and my sis into helping!

Our theme will be Fiesta on the Burning River so we'll be blaring calliente style music all night and will be wearing sombreros and serving everything up with fiesta style flair. It should be a blast.

Last night I printed and laminated signs for all the aid stations and tonight I will be heading out to help mark the course with MT and RH. This event is definitely keeping everyone busy!

The race got a plug in the Plain Dealer and on the local WKSU station. Some of the facts in the article were a bit off. Fred Davis certainly is not your normal joe and the burning river may be his first 100 of the weekend, but it's certainly not his first ever :) But it's pretty exciting having such a big ultra event right here in Cleveland so we'll overlook the details ;)

Good luck to all those running this weekend! I am sure I'll miss someone here but special good luck to all first timers (Mike and Dawn!). Good luck to fellow bloggers Josh and Rob. Have fun pacing Kim! We'll see you all at mile 91.3! We'll be sure to save some salsa for you ;)