I just got back from a trip to Spokane and Coeur d'Alene. It was a great experience and definately something I would like to do again.
Past:
A long time ago, I thought that it would be a good idea to go over and volunteer at Ironman CDA. I decided to be a finish-line athlete catcher and my wife chose to help hand out awards. Our shifts were both the closing shifts...from 9PM to Midnight. We figured that this was when the athletes needed the most encouragement, so we went for it.
Preparing for the trip:
I talked to a good friend over in Spokane. Although they were going to be very busy, they said that they would love to have us stay at their place that weekend. I had no problem with that because I anticipated that we would be very busy as well.
As it turns out, Spokane was also hosting "Hoopfest", which is a large festival in which they close downtown Spokane and have basketball tournaments all weekend. It is just as big of deal for Spokane as Ironman is for Coeur d'Alene...And they both happen to be on the same weekend.
Friday:
When we left Seattle, it was 48 degrees and raining. It had been raining most of the week...well...most of the month...well...almost every day of the year.
We drove out from Seattle to Spokane on Friday. As soon as we got over Snoqualmie Pass, it was blue skies. As soon as we got to Ellensburg, it was 65 degrees. I had a sad realization that this is how the rest of the country is...We got to Spokane in the warm sun and dropped our stuff off at the friend's house. We went down to waterfront park in Spokane. It is a beautiful park. They already had a bunch of vendor booths set up and were setting up a lot of other things for Hoopfest. The Kids played on a giant wagon.
We went out for an early dinner, went to Cabela's for some shopping. Is it me, or are we forced (us men) by sporting stores into wearing zip-off jeans and safari shirts or printed tees with a moose on it? I don't get it. Any sporting store I go to it seems to carry the same things: UnderArmor...which used to be cool, but now that every person owns it it is trite, Safari shirts with roll-up sleeves, and printed t-shirts with a moose on it. I would swear that I have NEVER in real life seen a man wearing these clothes but it seems like the only clothes that men can buy in sporting stores. Gag. REI and Sports Authority are the same way. Underarmor or zipoff pants. sigh.
We then went to the outlet mall in Post Falls. Pretty sad there. An entire outlet mall was built, and there was only one occupied store that we could see.
Because of Hoopfest, our sister church was having service on Friday. We went to the service and it was really encouraging.
We went to our friend's house and hung out and went to sleep.
Saturday:
Today was the day of the volunteer meeting. We had to be in Coeur d'Alene at noon. We packed up the kids and headed out. We got there just in time to sign in and get t-shirts. I was bummed that the shirts were purple because this meant I was unable to wear it out in public on a regular day. Oh well.
Coeur d'Alene park is very beautiful. We gave the kids a break by taking them to the playground. It is a huge 'castle' playground and I think that we could have just dropped off the kids and come back several hours later and they never would have even noticed.
After the playground, we went over to the transition area. The race feeling was in the air. People were setting up their bikes and getting everything checked in.
We went to the expo and walked through all of the vendor booths. We went into the Ironman store and checked out all of their memoriabilia. I found a pair of sunglasses that I liked and my wife found a shirt for her nephew. The sunglasses were only $20 and I needed some. My brother-in-law runs ultra-marathons, and the t-shirt my wife found was a kid's shirt that said, "My Dad is faster than your Dad."
The line was incredibly long so we decided to buy them the next day. After that, we went down to the beach. The kids got to watch them blow up the bouys for the swim course. There were several athletes swimming in the cove. It was a beautiful day and easy to enjoy.
After that, we walked past the finishing chute. It was odd to see. There is truth to the saying "The finish line may just be a strip of paint on the ground but to these athletes, it means so much more." Looking at a finishing chute without a race just seems like watching the calm before the storm. I knew that the energy would be insane on the following evening and I was looking forward to it.
We went into town and found an icecream shop for the kids. I ran across town to go get the car and pick the family up. We went back to our friends house.
Soon after, our friends were having a barbeque. The church has a teen camp every year. Teens from Alaska, Montana, Idaho and all over come to Spokane. So they had a large barbeque at their place to welcome the teens in. We got to see a lot of old friends and it was a great time.
Sunday....Race Day.
After getting ready, getting breakfast, getting the kids prepared for the day, and driving from Cheney to Spokane, we arrived at the park in Coeur d'Alene at 9:15. As we approached the park, we could see the cyclists leaving the transition area and hear Mike Reilly making all of the announcements. We heard them encouraging the last swimmer out of the water before the cutoff time. By the time we got to the water, the athletes that we saw coming in were the ones who were faced with the biggest dissappointment they have had for the last 2 years....
I can't imagine training for 20 hours a week, and sacrificing so much of your life financially and time-wise to do this race just to get out of the water and hear, "I'm sorry. You didn't make the cutoff...". We saw a lot of tears and a lot of destroyed spirits.
...But the spectators at Ironman are amazing. The athletes are appreciated so much that the ones who don't make the cutoff are appreciated just as much as the one in first place...and the spectators do not hold back on the amount of respect or honor that any of these people deserve. Each finishing swimmer was greeted with thousands of people who still clapped for them and made sure they felt appreciation...just for signing their name on the line.
The Ironman CDA has a great course. The bike course is like a figure-8, and it meets right in the middle of downtown. On top of that, it is a 2-loop course. As a spectator, you are able to see the people who just got out of the water, while watching the middle-of-the-pack and watching the pro's come through. Even though it was a 112 mile course, there really just wasn't a dull moment for the spectators.
We went and grabbed lunch at one of the local restaurants. It was right next to the finish line and we sat on the patio, so we got to watch them set up the details for the finish chute. It was great to sit there and listen to all of the cheering blocks away and all of the cowbells and hear the announcer keep everybody updated. The noise seemed to come from all over the town so it was really cool.
After lunch, we went to the Ironman store and I got my sunglasses. After that we walked back down to the park to watch the transition area from bike to run.
At this point, Craig Alexander was halfway completed with the marathon. We got to watch a few of the other pros just leaving the transition chute. It was great how they gave everybody high-fives as they left for their marathon. So we watched the transition area for a few minutes. We got to watch somebody come out of the porta-potty with an aero-helmet on and do the barefoot shuffle through the grass.
We took the kids back down to the beach so they could play in the water. They had a great time even though the water was too cold for them. After that, we packed them all up and headed out. Be back later tonight.
The Finishing Chute:
"Well done, good and faithful servant".
There are 3 important things as an athlete catcher. 1) Keep the athlete moving after the finish line and keep their heart rate up. 2) Make sure the athletes get their awards. 3) Assess if the athlete needs immediate medical attention.
About 10:30, I figured something out about it. All these people just want somebody...something... on the other side of the finish line to say, "Welcome Home." Since family isn't allowed in the finish chute and athletes don't have clear vision of finding the ones they loved...I figured the best thing is to just encourage them down the chute and welcome them as if you are the person who loves them most and is the most excited for them. You can build an entire relationship with that person in the last 20 feet of the marathon just by saying with your eyes and your motions "I really appreciate what you just accomplished. Come on over!"
I got to witness a gamet of emotions with the athletes that crossed.
-There were 2 marriage proposals, and 2 "Yes" responses.
-I walked with a 60 year-old woman who didn't want her picture taken because this was her 27th ironman.
-One man pushed his way through the catchers, awards, and dissappeared into the night. Either he was in shock, or he thought he had another lap to do.
-As one person collapsed onto the ground, I had to relay from a course medic to the finish line medic that the athlete had an open-heart surgery earlier in the month and is showing signs of pneumonia...And he still crossed the line.
-The athletes were great. Some would hug us, some would collapse into our arms, and some just wanted to get the medal on their neck and get out of there.
As they held out their arms for help, they just had a look of appreciation in their eyes. They had just finished a marathon, a 112 mile bike ride, and a 2.4 mile swim, and they were thanking me. All I did was keep them on their feet and keep them moving before the medics get to them.
-One man seemed in a different time zone. The Medics asked him questions that sound very odd to the normal person, but very important to assess a person's health. "How much have you had to drink?" , "When was the last time you went pee?" . He was able to answer all of the medic's questions, but showed signs of needing medical support. I think that even while his picture was being taken, he was looking off into space. Even though he REALLY wanted to see his family, the Medics insisted that they take him. You could see his face go from jubilation to disappointment as he wasn't able to see them.
The finishing chute began getting choked with media, but that is how it goes. There was one camera that we had to walk in front of everytime we got an athlete. It was quite annoying. The back of my head will probably pop up on the internet several times in the near future.
11:52 came and they called the last athlete.
It turned Midnight, and the work was over. It was a lot of fun and well worth the trip. The 3 hours flew by.
Past:
A long time ago, I thought that it would be a good idea to go over and volunteer at Ironman CDA. I decided to be a finish-line athlete catcher and my wife chose to help hand out awards. Our shifts were both the closing shifts...from 9PM to Midnight. We figured that this was when the athletes needed the most encouragement, so we went for it.
Preparing for the trip:
I talked to a good friend over in Spokane. Although they were going to be very busy, they said that they would love to have us stay at their place that weekend. I had no problem with that because I anticipated that we would be very busy as well.
As it turns out, Spokane was also hosting "Hoopfest", which is a large festival in which they close downtown Spokane and have basketball tournaments all weekend. It is just as big of deal for Spokane as Ironman is for Coeur d'Alene...And they both happen to be on the same weekend.
Friday:
When we left Seattle, it was 48 degrees and raining. It had been raining most of the week...well...most of the month...well...almost every day of the year.
We drove out from Seattle to Spokane on Friday. As soon as we got over Snoqualmie Pass, it was blue skies. As soon as we got to Ellensburg, it was 65 degrees. I had a sad realization that this is how the rest of the country is...We got to Spokane in the warm sun and dropped our stuff off at the friend's house. We went down to waterfront park in Spokane. It is a beautiful park. They already had a bunch of vendor booths set up and were setting up a lot of other things for Hoopfest. The Kids played on a giant wagon.
We went out for an early dinner, went to Cabela's for some shopping. Is it me, or are we forced (us men) by sporting stores into wearing zip-off jeans and safari shirts or printed tees with a moose on it? I don't get it. Any sporting store I go to it seems to carry the same things: UnderArmor...which used to be cool, but now that every person owns it it is trite, Safari shirts with roll-up sleeves, and printed t-shirts with a moose on it. I would swear that I have NEVER in real life seen a man wearing these clothes but it seems like the only clothes that men can buy in sporting stores. Gag. REI and Sports Authority are the same way. Underarmor or zipoff pants. sigh.
We then went to the outlet mall in Post Falls. Pretty sad there. An entire outlet mall was built, and there was only one occupied store that we could see.
Because of Hoopfest, our sister church was having service on Friday. We went to the service and it was really encouraging.
We went to our friend's house and hung out and went to sleep.
Saturday:
Today was the day of the volunteer meeting. We had to be in Coeur d'Alene at noon. We packed up the kids and headed out. We got there just in time to sign in and get t-shirts. I was bummed that the shirts were purple because this meant I was unable to wear it out in public on a regular day. Oh well.
Coeur d'Alene park is very beautiful. We gave the kids a break by taking them to the playground. It is a huge 'castle' playground and I think that we could have just dropped off the kids and come back several hours later and they never would have even noticed.
After the playground, we went over to the transition area. The race feeling was in the air. People were setting up their bikes and getting everything checked in.
We went to the expo and walked through all of the vendor booths. We went into the Ironman store and checked out all of their memoriabilia. I found a pair of sunglasses that I liked and my wife found a shirt for her nephew. The sunglasses were only $20 and I needed some. My brother-in-law runs ultra-marathons, and the t-shirt my wife found was a kid's shirt that said, "My Dad is faster than your Dad."
The line was incredibly long so we decided to buy them the next day. After that, we went down to the beach. The kids got to watch them blow up the bouys for the swim course. There were several athletes swimming in the cove. It was a beautiful day and easy to enjoy.
We went into town and found an icecream shop for the kids. I ran across town to go get the car and pick the family up. We went back to our friends house.
Soon after, our friends were having a barbeque. The church has a teen camp every year. Teens from Alaska, Montana, Idaho and all over come to Spokane. So they had a large barbeque at their place to welcome the teens in. We got to see a lot of old friends and it was a great time.
Sunday....Race Day.
"Chuck Norris Never Did An Ironman!"
...But the spectators at Ironman are amazing. The athletes are appreciated so much that the ones who don't make the cutoff are appreciated just as much as the one in first place...and the spectators do not hold back on the amount of respect or honor that any of these people deserve. Each finishing swimmer was greeted with thousands of people who still clapped for them and made sure they felt appreciation...just for signing their name on the line.
The Ironman CDA has a great course. The bike course is like a figure-8, and it meets right in the middle of downtown. On top of that, it is a 2-loop course. As a spectator, you are able to see the people who just got out of the water, while watching the middle-of-the-pack and watching the pro's come through. Even though it was a 112 mile course, there really just wasn't a dull moment for the spectators.
We went and grabbed lunch at one of the local restaurants. It was right next to the finish line and we sat on the patio, so we got to watch them set up the details for the finish chute. It was great to sit there and listen to all of the cheering blocks away and all of the cowbells and hear the announcer keep everybody updated. The noise seemed to come from all over the town so it was really cool.
After lunch, we went to the Ironman store and I got my sunglasses. After that we walked back down to the park to watch the transition area from bike to run.
At this point, Craig Alexander was halfway completed with the marathon. We got to watch a few of the other pros just leaving the transition chute. It was great how they gave everybody high-fives as they left for their marathon. So we watched the transition area for a few minutes. We got to watch somebody come out of the porta-potty with an aero-helmet on and do the barefoot shuffle through the grass.
We took the kids back down to the beach so they could play in the water. They had a great time even though the water was too cold for them. After that, we packed them all up and headed out. Be back later tonight.
The Finishing Chute:
"Well done, good and faithful servant".
There are 3 important things as an athlete catcher. 1) Keep the athlete moving after the finish line and keep their heart rate up. 2) Make sure the athletes get their awards. 3) Assess if the athlete needs immediate medical attention.
About 10:30, I figured something out about it. All these people just want somebody...something... on the other side of the finish line to say, "Welcome Home." Since family isn't allowed in the finish chute and athletes don't have clear vision of finding the ones they loved...I figured the best thing is to just encourage them down the chute and welcome them as if you are the person who loves them most and is the most excited for them. You can build an entire relationship with that person in the last 20 feet of the marathon just by saying with your eyes and your motions "I really appreciate what you just accomplished. Come on over!"
I got to witness a gamet of emotions with the athletes that crossed.
-There were 2 marriage proposals, and 2 "Yes" responses.
-I walked with a 60 year-old woman who didn't want her picture taken because this was her 27th ironman.
-One man pushed his way through the catchers, awards, and dissappeared into the night. Either he was in shock, or he thought he had another lap to do.
-As one person collapsed onto the ground, I had to relay from a course medic to the finish line medic that the athlete had an open-heart surgery earlier in the month and is showing signs of pneumonia...And he still crossed the line.
-The athletes were great. Some would hug us, some would collapse into our arms, and some just wanted to get the medal on their neck and get out of there.
As they held out their arms for help, they just had a look of appreciation in their eyes. They had just finished a marathon, a 112 mile bike ride, and a 2.4 mile swim, and they were thanking me. All I did was keep them on their feet and keep them moving before the medics get to them.
-One man seemed in a different time zone. The Medics asked him questions that sound very odd to the normal person, but very important to assess a person's health. "How much have you had to drink?" , "When was the last time you went pee?" . He was able to answer all of the medic's questions, but showed signs of needing medical support. I think that even while his picture was being taken, he was looking off into space. Even though he REALLY wanted to see his family, the Medics insisted that they take him. You could see his face go from jubilation to disappointment as he wasn't able to see them.
The finishing chute began getting choked with media, but that is how it goes. There was one camera that we had to walk in front of everytime we got an athlete. It was quite annoying. The back of my head will probably pop up on the internet several times in the near future.
11:52 came and they called the last athlete.
It turned Midnight, and the work was over. It was a lot of fun and well worth the trip. The 3 hours flew by.
Comments
Post a Comment