The G Running Diary

A Day at the Races: 4/19/05

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We got up extra early to go to the Ruth Anderson race course at Lake Merced in San Francisco. Don was starting the 50K run early so that he'd have more time to help out afterwards. The car was packed with ZombieRunner items. The Ruth Anderson runs started at 6:30 am. Don started at about 4:15. I tried to doze for a while, and then at a time that seemed way too early, Steve Jaber and some others arrived to start setting up for the race. It was still dark. I went over to do what I could to help out. Steve is so used to this that he has a specific way to do everything. He set up the race check-in area for Stan.

The runners started trickling in to sign up as we prepared the aid station area. The start for Ruth Anderson is about a quarter mile from the aid station area, so Steve kept announcing that soon we'd be walking to the start. I had the honorable task of starting two of the race timers. It was important to have correct timing since there was always a chance that someone would set some kind of record. Frank Bozanich was going for an age group record, I think at any distance. Steve made sure that Frank had everything he needed for an optimum race, including a little table with his own supplies.

After the blazing fast (not really) start, I went back to the aid station and prepared the food. This race is well-stocked: bananas, grapes, honeydew melon, saltines, potato chips, peanuts, pretzels, Clif bars, Clif shots, Carol's homemade oatmeal and fruit bars (very good!), Mother's cookies, hard candies, boiled potatoes & salt, donuts, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, coke, sprite, lemonade, GU2O, water (of course), and later chicken noodle soup and pizza. I made sure all the bowls were filled and cups of drinks were available. After most people came through their first lap, I started making PB&J sandwiches. There was always something to do! But volunteering at an aid station for a multi-lap race is the most fun. You get to see everyone again and again. And for the runner it's good, becuase they know what food to expect. Some really good runners were so casual at the aid station. They'd stop and chat for a while, and then take off again on a fast pace. There were about five runners in their 20's, which is young for this sort of thing, and two or three runners doing their first ultras. Then there was Dieter Walz, age 70, who turned in an American age group record at the 50K mark on his way to running the full 100K distance.