Volunteering at Run The Bluegrass Easy Way For Aged Runner to Give Back

Sara Meredith and her daughter, Vivian, had signs to support runner Ethan Wilborn but also gladly helped at a water station at Run The Bluegrass. (Larry Vaught Photo)

I think it was about 35 years ago — just before I turned 40 — that I started running. That was something I never thought I would do but several local runners encouraged me to give it a try and believe it or not, I liked it.

I really have no idea how many 5K (3.1 mile) events I have done (I even did one on a cruise ship which was  unique to say the least). Same with 10K’s. I managed to do half marathons (13.1 miles) in Midway, Lexington, Florence, Pigeon Forge and even Mt. Airy, N.C.  I have now done the Cades Cove Loop Lope 10 Miler eight times and hope to make number nine in November.

I have been able to run races in Tennessee, Florida, Virginia, South Carolina, Utah, Texas, Indiana, Ohio and probably a few other states I no longer remember.

As I’ve aged, I’ve gotten a LOT slower and actually now enjoy volunteering to help at races as a way to pay back those who volunteered for so many years so I could run.

Last weekend I got help with the Run The Bluegrass which offers a 5K, 10K and half-marathon. It’s billed as America’s prettiest half-marathon and the area around Talon Wineryand Vineyards in Lexington is very scenic — and maybe hilly.

John’s Bluegrass Running Company organizes this event now. I think this was year five for me to volunteer and race director Eva Jackson has let me assist at packet pickup and then work a water stop. It’s a great way to interact with runners and I love meeting new people from a lot of different stats. I even saw a hat I loved that had this inscription: “Slow Days Still Count Run Club.” I could be president of that group.

Laura Andrews was my packet pickup buddy and was not only great to work with, but is a nutritionist who offered me some healthy advice. She also lived in Canada and Hong Kong before coming to Kentucky.

I got to my water stop at the half-marathon turnaround point about 6:15 a.m. on Saturday because roads were blocked at 6:30 for the 7 o’clock starter. Half-marathon winner Max Blankehorn, 36, got to the water stop about 7:40 and was not being pushed by anyone. He finished the 13.1 miles in 1 hour, 22 minutes, 49.8 seconds — a 6:19 minute per mile pace.

Sara Meredith and her daughter, Vivian, had walked almost a mile to the turnaround spot to support Ethan Wilborn, Meredith’s future son-in-law, with signs they had made. He finished in 1:53:42, an 8:41 pace.

I needed some help at the water station and they jumped in to help fill water cups and hand water to runners — and it was much appreciated.

After the last runner made the turn to start the loop back to the finish, I cleaned up and started to drive out. Within about two miles, I caught the sweeper van following the final runners. The race had a 14-minute pace requirement and some were having trouble staying on pace. That’s when something I had never seen before happened. One of the volunteers in the sweeper van got out and ran/walked with the final three or four runners encouraging them and trying to keep them on pace. It was a great gesture because those runners wanted to finish and he was doing all he could to help them.

Again, it was a fun two days for me trying to find a way to make sure those who love running — or maybe just love pushing themselves — had a chance to do that.

Hopefully, race director Eva Jackson lets me keep my jobs for another year because at age 74, volunteering and helping others is a lot easier and more fun to me than running.