The Philadelphia Marathon is coming up soon, November 21, 2010 to be precise. As usual, we are staffing the water table at the 18/22 mile mark, which is now in front of Duron Paints at the intersection of Ridge Avenue and Main Street (across from Tommy Gunn’s) (Map »).
We still need volunteers.
This is a critical location both because there will be so many runners (remember they will be coming in both directions) and because many runners at this stage in the race will be in dire need of support. Runners will be hurting, and we need to help them along.
Contact me to sign up for the water stop. You can volunteer for as little or as much time as you have available. Any commitment of time is appreciated.
Here is the schedule:
Water table set up begins at 6:00 AM. The table is located front of Duron Paints at Ridge Avenue and Main Street. We need about 10-12 people for this. Tables and containers of water and Gatorade are dropped off by the marathon committee. We need to set up the tables, and start pouring the water and Gatorade. Once the runners arrive, it gets crazy. The more water that is prepared in advance, the better!
The race starts at 7 AM, and the first runners start coming through about 8:30. These are the top runners and they are all business. They take their water and Gatorade and then are off. By 10:00, the bulk of the runners start arriving, and there are lots of them. This is when we especially need volunteers. 60 is ideal. We hand out a lot of water and Gatorade. But vocal support for the slower runners is an important part of the job description.
By noon’ish, things start to taper off, and the final runners/walkers pass by 1:30. Then there is the cleanup. About 20 people are needed at this point. Everything should be completed by 2 pm. (All these times and numbers are approximations, by the way)
Volunteers can park on Ridge AVenue at or near the Wissahickon Train Station and then walk down to the water table (Map »). There is a lot of water splashing around, so it is advisable to wear waterproof gloves. The water stop has always been a lot of fun. We will be staffing the water table along with the youngsters from Dock High School XC Team and the Lady Falcons softball team as well as some other area runners who have been manning this site since the race was first held.
