“Our past research shows that adults are twice as likely to volunteer if they began participating when they were kids.”
--Diana Aviv, CEO of Independent Sector, the national leadership forum for America's nonprofit organizations, foundations, and corporations
I love running. My dad instilled a great love for the sport in me and, had my mom not had her cartilage removed from her knee, i'm sure she would have been a source of running inspiration for me as well.
When the twin and I first started running road races with my dad, we noticed that he would thank every.single.volunteer on the course. Every one of them. It was an awesome example to us.
Then came the time when I couldn't run due to injuries. I started volunteering in Cambridge (abroad and in the USA) at local road races and loved being on the flip side of the course. The free shirts and gear didn't hurt either.
When I joined the ATC as a competitive runner I was excited to join them as a volunteer, too. The girls & I have volunteered together for 6 races. It's so awesome to see them participate with me, even if it does mean they'll also be playing with their dolls at the same time!
The girls and i were pretty impressed with
the caliber and quantity of runners on such a hilly (and hot!) course
Cutie Face was especially enthralled by the running atmosphere and insisted on wearing "her" volunteer shirt for the rest of the day--the whole day! The only thing she didn't like was when I cheered too loudly for the runners. Embarrassed & alarmed at my unfortunate ability to encourage others through screaming, she asked me to stop quite a few times before my voice finally broke & i had to stop anyway...but boy do her pleas for "being quiet" certainly sound familiar...as I'm pretty sure i begged my dad to not be as loud when I was with him a time or two :)
As always, a huge perk for the girls at any running race is the post-race bash which usually means bagels and, if they're lucky...watered down sports drinks. At the Grand Finale 5k, though, this meant a huge breakfast spread compliments of the ATC and catered by the awesome Einstein Bros. Bagels.
Thanks for tagging along with me, girls!
You are definitely my super star volunteers!
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