Volunteering at PCTR's Redwood Creek 50k

I've been oblivious to the weather since Miwok. I figured it's May, no more rain and it will be warm from here on out until June when San Francisco's summer begins. Those of you who have experienced it know what I mean. Hint: It's not warm.

So imagine my surprise last Sunday when the heavens opened up with a full on downpour during PCTR's Redwood Creek 10, 20, 30 and 50k. Yeah, not fun. Fun for the runners not so much fun for the race staff and volunteers. At least it was nice at first, gave people time to get ready and line up before they changed their mind. Light drizzle at first then a downpour right before the gun. It rained for about an hour. Reports from runners is that it got tricky on some of the hills, lots of slipping and sliding going around and people kicking mud everywhere. Must have been challenging for the folks in road shoes if it was tough for the runners with trail shoes to get traction. I didn't hear a lot of complaints at the finish though. People for the most part took it in stride and just went with it.

The good thing was that it did stop raining just as the first 10k runners finished and we were able to put out some food on the tables. After that initial downpour we were not bothered by rain for the rest of the day. The sun even came out and it was a most welcome blessing because it got cold.

A great event and some of the folks from Quicksilver the day before came to volunteer. In fact the male winners of Quicksilver were working the race. Gary Gellin who set the course record for the 25k(1:44:00) was working the finish line food table with your truly. Leor Pantilat who set the course record for the 50k (3:30:10) was at the timing tent and Zach Landman who won the 50-mile (6:50:37) was at the aid station on Moongate. Oh man I bet Zach and his girlfriend Geri were drenched at their aid station. I wonder if they were able to put out any food or if they even had umbrellas. Well, fun, fun fun, never a boring moment at the PCTR races.

I enjoy volunteering but especially for PCTR events. I enjoy the people and while new runners are always coming and going it has always retained it's laid back vibe. There is a lot of hard racing going on in these events but there's also good community. When the running is over there's good people to take care of you and good people to share run stories with. Why I keep coming back.

Proud Dad Brian Wyatt with his daughter Chaia, she's running her first 10k.

Rain right before the start.

And it kept going and going and going.

Holly, Joel and Kyle at the aid station by the start/finish. Their station is for the 30k and 50k runners who loop through.

Gary, Leor and Mark staying dry at the timing tent.

10k runners on the final stretch to the finish line. Look at that kid go!

Finally after about an hour, shortly after the 10k runners started finishing, it stopped raining and were able to put out some food at the finish area.

Mud is a beautiful thing.