Last night I had the pleasure of marshalling at the last check point (98 m of 110) on the inaugural running of the Hardmoors 110. There were some familiar faces there; Jon Steel (race organiser), Shirley Colqhoun (who looked positively chirpy!) and Murdo McEwan (although I had missed Murdo by an hour!)
This was an interesting experience for me as I haven't marshalled for a long race before. I always try to have a smile for marshalls - they give up their freetime to help keep runners safe for no persoanl reward but I was amazed to experience just how many runners could not say a simple 'thank you' and also how many support teams were actually rude and even aggressive. (There were many friendly runners too!!)
It was also interesting to see what kind of state people were in by this stage and reassuring to know that it's not just me that cries and hallucinates!!
The race itself seemed to be a success and the weather certainly added to its scenic charm.
Well done Jon - I may even give this a go myself next year!
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6 comments:
You did a great job at that checkpoint ! I was on the support crew of the seventh runner who couldn't find the checkpoint and you or someone else went out to find her and did find her - it was much appreciated :-)
Yes that was me! No problem, it was easy to head up too early at that CP. Glad she finished ok.
Thank you so much for all your help Phil. Scarborough checkpoint was the hardest checkpoint to Marshall, due to the tiredness of the runners and support crews, the location and the darkness, well done, Im afraid I wasnt much help there, I was half dead and bloody frozen, you went the extra mile mate, going out to find lost runners etc. I am now reviewing the Scarborough cp for 2009, possibly moving it or signing the route from the seafront to it.
cheers
Jon Steele
No worries Jon.
To be honest I thought it was a great location for a CP (might think differently in a force 10 easterly I suppose!) It was easy enough to find by road and on foot and a massive car park made it perfect for support vehicles.
Maybe I've been a bit harsh on runners and supporters. I know how it feels at 90+ miles and it's no surprise people were getting 'tetchy'! Congratulations again on the race and to all those that finished this tough event.
Forwarded from Jon:
All the guys at the checkpoints were helpful, friendly and very supportive and please say a special thank you to the guy who came and found me when I couldn't find the checkpoint in Scarborough. I have no idea if I thanked him at the time in all the confusion and upset but I certainly was extremely grateful for what he did and very pleased and relieved to see him. Silly thing is, I knew where I was, and the Cleveland Way, and had I just carried on, I guess I'd have come across it anyway! Massive thanks to him though :)
It was no problem - Mandy was exhausted and confused by this point and it was understandable that she had gone a bit off track. I was amazed at how well she was moving despite the obvious mental fatigue. Congratulations of finishing the race Mandy - no mean feat.
Phil
By email from Murdo:
Hi Phil
I too was pretty perky @ Scarborough, by the way! But was seriously Mr Gloomy @ Ravenscar. Amazing how the mood swings back and forth.
What an event ~ it has the potential to evolve into a world classic.
Many thanks for your marshalling ~ likewise, sorry to miss you. I'd heard that Shirley was chasing, so I wasn't going to hang around!
Murdo
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