On Saturday Kata and I volunteered to marshal at Portobello Parkrun. This was my second time volunteering, and where as previously I was barcode scanner, this week I had promoted to Time Keeper. As we prepared to start Portobello Parkrun in the pouring rain, the weight of responsibility lay heavy on my shoulders.
Raining and not pleased about it
Essentially the job entails starting the race by saying “Go!”, starting the stop-watch, and presing the clicker every time a runner crossed the line. Sounds simple (and it was), but one false click, one wrong button pressed on the stop-watch, and that’s Parkrun times for this week stuffed. Forunately I managed to avoid disaster and pressed all the right buttons at all the right times. Kata was working with me which was nice and her job was to check every 10th runner (or so) to confirm that the token number they were given concurred with the placing I had given them on my clicker. The weather was atrocious after a week or so of Summer sun so the number of runners was lower than usual and the scope for error reduced – we finished with everyone in the right order.
3...2...1...Go!
It was fun to stand with my hands on my hips watching other people run!!! Well done to everyone who got out of bed to run three laps of Figgate Park in this weather – I am certain I wouldn’t have bothered. The other volunteers were a friendly bunch and I really enjoy the more intimate Portobello Parkrun compared to the larger, more established Silverknowes. Maybe next time I will join the after race coffee drinking in the café over the road? Well done to all the volunteers too for getting out of bed and going out into the rain to allow the runners to have a run to run.
Click, click, click, click, click....
I highly recommend volunteering at Parkrun. It’s not hard and it really makes you feel part of things, like it’s YOUR Parkrun.
As I didn’t run Parkrun, I instead ran the 4 miles or so home to complete 396 of consecutive running.
Great, Scottish Summer
Great Volunteers
