USATF Masters (over 40) Phidippides Award

There is a little known award offered to USATF members over 40 called The Phildippides Award.
From the website:

Who Was Phidippides?

Phidippides was a Master when he performed his historic runs. According to chronicles Phidippides was sent to Sparta by Athenian officials when they were threatened by Persians landing at Marathon. The trip was 150 miles which he ran in 2 days. The Spartans were celebrating a festival and could not come until the full moon, several days later, whereupon Phidippides retraced his steps in 2 more days. He then fought a battle with the rest of the Athenians routing the Persians. The Persians retreated to their ships and set sail for Athens, which caused the Athenians to send Phidippides from the battlefield to Athens, a distance of 26 miles. He reached Athens, pronounced Nenikekamen (‘We have won’ or ‘We are victorious’) and promptly died. Robert Browning commemorated this story in his 1879 poem Pheidippides. The poem inspired Baron Pierre de Coubertin and other founders of the modern Olympic games to invent a running race of 42 kilometers called the marathon.

To qualify for the award plack you have to be a USATF member, be above the age of 40 and all your races need to be USATF certified and in the US.  You get one point for 5K, 1 points for 10K, 3 points for half marathon and 4 points for anything that is marathon in distance or longer.

For a runner between the ages of 40 and 59, the minimum number of points is 12 for bronze, 16 for silver and 20 for gold.  Deadline to submit your form for 2013 is January 31, 2014


 

Why everyone should volunteer at races

First let's talk about the easiest, selfish reason to volunteer at a race event : hours leading to free registration if you're a runner or free running equipment if the hosting company has their own line of equipment.  Yes, it is a great motivating factor and the Race Director (RD) has a captive audience to help fill those race slots (not that most RD need that much help).  However, there are other less tangible but more important reasons to volunteer.

The race I volunteered for was the Inside Trail Racing (ITR) Feb 23rd Lake Chabot 10k, Half, 30 and 50K because Lake Chabot is one of my favorite places to run and I wanted to see what a crazy 50K trail racer looked, talked and acted like.

Hosting a race is a big deal requiring the orchestration of quiet a few different activities all at the same time.  You have Aid Stations (AS) to setup with aid supplies, trail markings, sweepers, registration staff to do last minute signup, race modifications, course photographers, course marshals and those to staff finisher tables.  You also have third party support staff such as EMT, timing company, vendors, announcer, PA system, etc.

Based on the questions I answered on the volunteer form I was assigned to the Finisher Table.  For this role you simple need to know how to prepare and organize foods to satisfy the basic senses : sweet, salty, etc.  If you can cut bananas, oranges and bagles you are half way there!

Here is my finisher table complete with burner for soup:



Foods should be organized by sweet, salty, be near the finish line and water but not too accessible to spectators or random visitors to the park.

Ok, so what intangibles are their to volunteering?  You get to interact and get to know the RD, other volunteers who typically are veteran runners and development connections that only come from shared labor over half a day or longer.  My purpose other than to help ITR staff out was to get a sense of how 50K'ers do what they do. Run 31 miles of trail?  How?

After spending half the day with ITR staff, volunteers and racers I discovered several trends:

• Many ultra runners hike (canoe, windsurf and other outdoor activities) in addition to running.
• Most ultra runners logs many more hours than your average runner (> 50 per week) and do back to back weekend long runs (e.g. 20 miles on Saturday, 10 on Sunday kinda thing).
• Most ultra runners know their equipment very well
• Most ultra runners know their fluid/fuel requirements by season very well
• Most ultra runners have a high tolerance for pain or just can't stop running unless there is serious physical injury.

I received much advice from Ken (Running Stupid), Catra (Dirt Diva), and Sam Hsu that I put to use when I used my 'free registration' to run my own 50K at Lake Folsom later that year in April.

There is no down side to spending half a day at the races and plenty of direct and indirect benefits doing so.  I've volunteered two more times thus far in 2013.

Race Director Tim with several very fast trail runners.

Typical long slow summer run atire

In Northern California, Summers are relatively mild in that it can get hot during the day but morning are normally cool and humidity is low.  Here is typical running, race attire for long slow summer weekend runs:
Shoes : Montrail Rogue Racer  About 9 oz shoes, sort of a neutral shoe with a little mid foot support and lugs on the bottom for traction.

Socks : Asics low-cut three for $12 at National Running Center (NRC)!

Shorts : I like the Frank Shorter's Marathon split running shorts when they are on sale for $16.  Or, the regular non-split when they are on sale for $10.  Can't get a better, lighter pair of shorts for $10!

Singlet Tops : Frank Shorter's Accent Tank Top when on sale for $16 or less.  Comes in four different colors either on white or solid.  Excellent tops.  I like the high-visibility especially at night with the reflectors that are iron-on the back of the shirt.

Hat  : Basic 'head sweats' hat with front liner to help control sweat.  Normally $10 and if I'm doing an order at NRC I'll add a head-band for winter.

iPhone arm band : I've tried a bunch of them and my favorite is the iFitness arm band because it had a half zip side to allow easy access to the phone while you are running to take pictures, made out of neoprene so it doesn't pinch, will accommodate iPhone with case and comes in different colors.

Accessory Belt : Can't beat the classic SPIbelt  for comfort and flexibility.  I normally keep a packet of GU, car keys and $20 just in case.  Put money or anything you don't want to get sweater in a baggy first just in case.

22-oz hand held : I have many, many hydration systems, but the one I always have with me and count on is the CamelBak Quick Grip because the grip is comfortable, secure and has a strap to sinch down for a tight ... well ... grip.  There is also a small zipper pocket on the side for a car key, some money and a GU - but not much else.

As soon as the early morning weather drops below 60, I'll transition to CW-X pro racing tights not only for the bit of insulation but integrated band puts that little extra spring into your step.  Very comfortable.  However, there is a seam around the crotch so I'd recommend also wearing technical underwear with it.