Three Cheers for Volunteers!

Today was the inaugural Odyssey 5k in Monongahela, PA. It wasn't huge, it wasn't the easiest course (but it apparently wasn't the toughest either!), and it wasn't the most competitive field. What was it? A show of solidarity and community. It was a gathering of strangers and acquaintances who left as friends. It was also a huge blow to neuroblastoma.

What's neuroblastoma? It's the most common cancer of infants. Everyone's heard of leukemia and yet neuroblastoma is almost twice as common in young children. 70% of children diagnosed with this cancer will be in the late stages and less than 40% of them will survive 5 years. It's hard to diagnose because the symptoms can mimic normal childhood illness with fever, vomiting, diarrhea, or breathing difficulty. This cancer needs to be more widely recognized and more research needs to happen to save the lives of the children affected by it.

The reason for the race today was two-fold, a mix of grief and celebration. The director and founder of Team Odyssey, Laura, is a mother of two. Both her son and her daughter were diagnosed with neuroblastoma in 1999, just 6 days apart. Her daughter went into remission in 2000 but still suffers the late effects of neuroblastoma and treatment today. Laura's son was not so lucky. He passed away in 2004 after a courageous fight. Laura's war on neuroblastoma began from this heartbreaking chapter of her family's life.

The Odyssey 5k began at 11:01 am, the time of her son's passing. 119 runners and 25 walkers started under sunny skies after a brief prayer from the church pastor. It really didn't seem the day could be going any better.

Blessing before the race

This race was different for me because I wasn't lined up and I wasn't wearing running shoes. Instead I stood on the sidelines and cheered as the runners took off. I was a volunteer...

Race morning started as usual, with an early wake up and some strong coffee. However, I followed the usual routine with loading my car with a Gatorade dispenser and some steel tubs to hold bottled water. I arrived at the church a little after 8 am and was introduced to a couple other volunteers. We got right to work mixing Gatorade, cutting bananas and oranges, laying out food tables, and setting up registration. Laura kept us organized and moving right along.

On your marks!

Before I knew it people were filing in to register or check in and more volunteers continued to arrive as the morning went on. I couldn't believe the amount of giving that I saw today. Volunteers brought soup, chili, cookies, sloppy joes, and all kinds of homemade goodness to warm up the runners. There were baskets and baskets of goodies donated for the chinese auction and door prizes from business throughout the community.

First year races usually have a lot of flaws and issues but Laura and Team Odyssey planned everything really well and the volunteers came together perfectly. There was a table for pre-registered runners, a table for race day registration, a table to pick up race packets and t-shirts, and a table to buy raffle tickets. It all moved like a well-oiled machine and there were volunteers to spare. Soon most of the volunteers moved off to different corners of the course to direct runners along their way. The local police and Team Odyssey closed the roads and marked the course and a cruiser followed the last group throughout making sure everyone was safe.

The after party

After the last person crossed the line the timing company got right to work on sorting out results while volunteers organized the medals and attended to runners. There was even a massage table! It wasn't long before results were handed over and Laura read off the winners. Even after the awards were doled out and the food was mostly gone, runners and volunteers continued to hang out and talk shop. The atmosphere was just that positive and fun!

The volunteers didn't disappear as soon as the race ended either. I could hardly believe how quickly the church's rec room returned to its pre-race state. Food was packed away, tables were returned to proper order, and banners were taken down. The floor was swept and all of the trash was moved to receptacles, even separated into garbage and recycling.

Lots of happy runners

I could easily list out all of the duties that the volunteers today performed and overwhelm this page with a list a mile long. But in the end all that really matters is that the volunteers made this race amazing and helped raise funds and awareness for neuroblastoma. I am honored to have been included in such an amazing group and I can't wait to take part again next year!

For more information on neuroblastoma vist the Children's Neuroblastoma Cancer Foundation.