The Inaugural Canal Corridor 100 weekend
This weekend I had a chance to be part of the Inaugural Canal Corridor 100 Mile Endurance Run, which is a 100-mile run on the Towpath in NE Ohio. The runners start at Lock 3 in downtown Akron, OH and run south to Canal Fulton, OH. Then, they turn around and run north to Vally view, OH, turn around and run back to Lock 3.
It began with the race director asking me for marketing/social media advice back in January. They invited me to the committee meeting and the next thing I knew I was in charge of the website and Facebook. As a runner, I never knew anything about what's going on behind the scene of a race. I only thought about how I would RUN the race. Being on the committee of a 100-mile race shows me the other perspectives of a race including getting permits, volunteers, supply crew, course marking, registration, etc. Luckily, we had great people on the committee who brought their expertise to the group.
On the race day, my job was to go around and take photos, update Facebook statuses, and "make myself available in case something needs to get done" (per the race director). I showed up at 4am on the race morning to take pictures of the start. Then, went to different aid stations starting from St Helena where my friend, S., was the aid station captain.
St Helena aid station was located at approx. Mile 20 of the race. Most runners were still fresh when they arrived at the aid station. The lead runner was running at 7 min/mile! I left St Helena around 10am to go to Wolf Creek aid station to capture some more pictures. Then, went back to Lock 3. We had a Japanese runner who flew directly from Japan to run the race. He wanted to quit because he had an upset stomach. The race director and aid station captain did not let him quit and did the "buckle talk". He finally got up and kept going.
After I left Lock 3 (around 12.30pm), I delivered some drop bags to Exploration Center aid station and went to join R. at Boston Store aid station. There was another race (BT50K) going on on the same day and that section could cause confusion to runners. We had to make sure that the runners were not confused by different trail markers. I stayed at Boston Store until 5pm to take photos and help the volunteers. I came home to have dinner with hubby, took a short nap, and went to Exploration Center aid station around 8pm. I left Exploration Center aid station and went to Church of NC aid station around 10pm. I came back to Boston Store around midnight but it was too dark to take any photo. So, I just helped at the aid station. Volunteering at Mile 80 of a 100-mile race was an incredible experience and it's something I won't forget. Most runners came in to the aid station feeling tired and thinking that it was a bad idea to run 100 miles. Most of them could not think straight and were cranky. Some of them could not eat. That's why the volunteers were there. They were there not to ring the cow bell or give encouragements. They were there to AID the runners including giving them food/drink, help change their shoes, battery, cloth, deal with blisters, etc. That's the beauty of ultra running.
I was too cold around 1am-ish and did not have any jacket with me. So, I went home and got some sleep before going back out at 6am. I went to the last aid station - Portage Path/Second Sole where S. was there. There were only 2 volunteers there so I helped them out. The race director called and said he needed more people to help at Lock 3 so I left for Lock 3 around 8am and stayed until the final runner finished. I was able to capture some photos at the finish line. Some runners ran their 1st hundo here so it was pretty emotional.
In 2 days, I have witnessed the highs and lows of ultra running and nothing could be more motivating than that. I sometimes felt useless at the aid station because I did not know what to do or how to help them (e.g., should I pop the blister? what to offer them?, etc). I guess that comes with experience either running or volunteering at more ultra races?
About Canal Corridor 100 Aid Stations
I had a lot of fun going to different aid stations at CC100 and talking to the captains and volunteers. All CC100 captains and volunteers "knew their shit". One station even brought their own electric generator. One funny moment was when a casual biker stopped by Boston Store aid station and asked about the race. We told him that it's a 100-mile run. He was shocked and asked if any of us had done that. R. told him that all volunteers that he saw at the aid station were ultra runners. He turned to me and asked if I had done one. I said I'd never run 100 miles and my longest race was only 31 miles. He repeated "ONLY 31 !?!?"
Different captains had different styles of how they ran their AS. One station played Hawaiian music, one station looked like they were just hanging out in their backyard drinking beer, one station did not have any chair because the captain did not want the runners to sit down, one station brought their own electric generator, etc. Love it!
I'm fortunate to be a part of the NE Ohio ultra running community and to get involved in a 100-mile race. It increases my love for the sport and the people. As someone said, ultra running is a "family".
As the CC100 race director said "I believe people that can run 100 miles can do anything". This race in particular was run by heart and by the love for the sport. Since it's a non-profit race, all proceeds go back to the runners, the parks, and charities.
It began with the race director asking me for marketing/social media advice back in January. They invited me to the committee meeting and the next thing I knew I was in charge of the website and Facebook. As a runner, I never knew anything about what's going on behind the scene of a race. I only thought about how I would RUN the race. Being on the committee of a 100-mile race shows me the other perspectives of a race including getting permits, volunteers, supply crew, course marking, registration, etc. Luckily, we had great people on the committee who brought their expertise to the group.
On the race day, my job was to go around and take photos, update Facebook statuses, and "make myself available in case something needs to get done" (per the race director). I showed up at 4am on the race morning to take pictures of the start. Then, went to different aid stations starting from St Helena where my friend, S., was the aid station captain.
St Helena aid station was located at approx. Mile 20 of the race. Most runners were still fresh when they arrived at the aid station. The lead runner was running at 7 min/mile! I left St Helena around 10am to go to Wolf Creek aid station to capture some more pictures. Then, went back to Lock 3. We had a Japanese runner who flew directly from Japan to run the race. He wanted to quit because he had an upset stomach. The race director and aid station captain did not let him quit and did the "buckle talk". He finally got up and kept going.
After I left Lock 3 (around 12.30pm), I delivered some drop bags to Exploration Center aid station and went to join R. at Boston Store aid station. There was another race (BT50K) going on on the same day and that section could cause confusion to runners. We had to make sure that the runners were not confused by different trail markers. I stayed at Boston Store until 5pm to take photos and help the volunteers. I came home to have dinner with hubby, took a short nap, and went to Exploration Center aid station around 8pm. I left Exploration Center aid station and went to Church of NC aid station around 10pm. I came back to Boston Store around midnight but it was too dark to take any photo. So, I just helped at the aid station. Volunteering at Mile 80 of a 100-mile race was an incredible experience and it's something I won't forget. Most runners came in to the aid station feeling tired and thinking that it was a bad idea to run 100 miles. Most of them could not think straight and were cranky. Some of them could not eat. That's why the volunteers were there. They were there not to ring the cow bell or give encouragements. They were there to AID the runners including giving them food/drink, help change their shoes, battery, cloth, deal with blisters, etc. That's the beauty of ultra running.
I was too cold around 1am-ish and did not have any jacket with me. So, I went home and got some sleep before going back out at 6am. I went to the last aid station - Portage Path/Second Sole where S. was there. There were only 2 volunteers there so I helped them out. The race director called and said he needed more people to help at Lock 3 so I left for Lock 3 around 8am and stayed until the final runner finished. I was able to capture some photos at the finish line. Some runners ran their 1st hundo here so it was pretty emotional.
In 2 days, I have witnessed the highs and lows of ultra running and nothing could be more motivating than that. I sometimes felt useless at the aid station because I did not know what to do or how to help them (e.g., should I pop the blister? what to offer them?, etc). I guess that comes with experience either running or volunteering at more ultra races?
About Canal Corridor 100 Aid Stations
I had a lot of fun going to different aid stations at CC100 and talking to the captains and volunteers. All CC100 captains and volunteers "knew their shit". One station even brought their own electric generator. One funny moment was when a casual biker stopped by Boston Store aid station and asked about the race. We told him that it's a 100-mile run. He was shocked and asked if any of us had done that. R. told him that all volunteers that he saw at the aid station were ultra runners. He turned to me and asked if I had done one. I said I'd never run 100 miles and my longest race was only 31 miles. He repeated "ONLY 31 !?!?"
Different captains had different styles of how they ran their AS. One station played Hawaiian music, one station looked like they were just hanging out in their backyard drinking beer, one station did not have any chair because the captain did not want the runners to sit down, one station brought their own electric generator, etc. Love it!
I'm fortunate to be a part of the NE Ohio ultra running community and to get involved in a 100-mile race. It increases my love for the sport and the people. As someone said, ultra running is a "family".
As the CC100 race director said "I believe people that can run 100 miles can do anything". This race in particular was run by heart and by the love for the sport. Since it's a non-profit race, all proceeds go back to the runners, the parks, and charities.
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