When we decided to make Falmouth the first stop on our new adventure, I immediately wanted to be part of the world-famous Falmouth Road Race. I had run this amazing three times in the past, but my running days are well in the past. So, I hopped online and registered as a volunteer.
Arriving to the baseball fields near the finish line, I registered for my volunteer position: handing out bottles of water to race finishers. Cool. But then, the volunteer coordinator was talking about a difference position for which they needed volunteers - drug testing chaperones for the winners. I quickly stepped up and offered to do it.
As this is an internationally recognized race with prize money for the winners, there is mandatory drug testing. Pretty easy assignment for me. I had to introduce myself to the winner, inform him that I was the chaperone, and I had to keep him in my sights until he made his way to the medical tent for testing.
The assignment came with a pretty awesome location:
There is always the chance for weather to have an impact on race day. Rain. Heat. Today, it was humidity. Super humid and really hot. The huge number of medical volunteers were going to be very busy today.
First across the Finish Line was the wheelchair finisher. He flew by us, and won by several minutes.
Soon after, the women's finisher. As more and more elite women finishers crossed the line, you could tell it was a brutal race. They were drenched with sweat, and none of them looked very happy.
The men's finish was exciting, with Ben Flanagan besting Biya Simbassa by 7 seconds. With his triumphant jump across the finish line, Ben made it three wins in a row.
Ben is a VERY popular winner. Everyone congratulated him, and fellow racers ran up to embrace him. Ben is from Canada, and is incredibly gracious and nice. He took his time to speak with many friends, family and fellow racers.
I spent about an hour with him, following him on his cool-down run, watching him do media interviews, and finally making his way to the medical tent for testing. I personally think I had the best volunteer job of the day.
To let you know how rough the heat and humidity was today, here is a photo from the finish line. This guy was about to crumble, as medical rushed over to help him. On my walk back to the car, I saw many ambulances going by, rushing runners to the hospital. I am so glad my running days are over . . .
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