This past weekend I attended the Road Runners Club of America National Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio – the 50^th anniversary celebration of the RRCA and also the site of the RRCA 5km National Championships. The event was part of the Flying Pig Marathon weekend with races from the Piglet Dash to the 5km, wheelchair race, 10km, half marathon, and marathon. I left Colorado for Ohio on an early morning flight on Friday after, you guessed it, another blanket of snow on Thursday. We got about 3” of snow in under two hours which melted rather quickly, but on May 1 you don’t typically expect to see snow – unless of course you are in Colorado and experienced the weather we’ve had this winter. I spoke to a friend in Vail on Thursday afternoon and she said they’d gotten 4-6” already and she was a bit tired of the snow and ready for spring. Enroute to Ohio on Friday (having left Springs on a 6 a.m. flight), I got delayed in Chicago for about two hours while thunderstorms passed over the “Windy City.” Lightning precluded ground personnel from working the baggage and other assorted functions necessary to get planes in and out of O’Hare. I arrived in Cincinnati at about 3 p.m. and hoped to make the RRCA host hotel by 4 p.m. for the annual business meeting. I was delayed in traffic, but fortunately the meeting was delayed as well and I arrived to sit through elections and bylaw discussions with the other RRCA delegates until about 7 p.m.

On Saturday I awoke to overcast skies and temps in the 50s for the 5km championships which I was prepared to “race.” I jogged over to the start with Len Goldman, president of the Lake Merritt Joggers and Striders – a club based in Oakland, CA who together with the PAMAKIDS, Dolphin South End Runners, and a few other clubs in the city by the Bay will host the RRCA Convention in San Francisco in March 2009 – and Susan Weeks, the newly appointed CEO of Running USA. Susan would be cheering Len and me to the finish line.

At race start (10:15 a.m.) the skies were overcast with intermittent drizzle and a bit of wind from maybe Kentucky, located just across the river. I headed out chasing Len – an above-average masters run, who at 60 years of age is an age grouper who races fast and furiously. He said he was hoping for 19:30 and would go out at 6:30 pace. I figured that was a bit fast for me, but decided to keep him in my sights for at least the first mile. I blazed through mile one in 6:34 and then slowed due to a few hills to run 7:10 for the next mile. I finished in 21:34 while Len cruised the course in 19:22. Impressive to say the least (for Len). I finished as the sixth woman and was pleased not to be passed by any women in the last two miles. As soon as I crossed the finish line the skies opened up and it rained, then poured. Susan and I ran back to the hotel and then I went out for a 20 minute “warm down”on the streets of Cincinnati. I was soaked when I got back to the hotel and looked very much like a drowned rat, yet I felt “moisturized” from the humidity and really enjoyed running in the rain.

The rest of the day included a luncheon with a guest panel of RRCA past presidents speaking about the history of the organization, my seminar on trail and mountain running, a live auction to benefit the RRCA, and the annual awards banquet.

I was delighted to assist Jeff Darman and Phil Stewart with the auction where I distributed the prizes to the winning bidders and even modeled a signed Peyton Manning Football Jersey which hung down below my knees. I made a truly insightful comment saying, “Wow, Peyton Manning must be tall!” The jersey brought $400 to the auction which raised nearly $3000 for the RRCA.

The annual awards banquet and dinner followed and I ended up sitting with a group from the Springfield Road Runners Club. With more than 1,200 members, this club from Abe Lincoln’s hometown has grown primarily because of the volunteer efforts of one Tim Butler, whose big ideas and vision created Abe’s Army – a training program that started with about 200 recruits in year one to more than 500; a training group for the Lincoln Memorial Half Marathon – the Half Wits; a race series in Illinois, plus…Butler is president of the running club. For his volunteer efforts Butler was presented the RRCA Rod Steele Outstanding Volunteer award for 2007. A humble fellow, Butler – who works for an Illinois Congressman – gave an eloquent and inspirational acceptance speech crediting his wife and fellow club members for supporting him and helping him to achieve this honor. This leads me to the focus of this blog – not just the RRCA Convention, but volunteerism. Our sport has flourished because of volunteers like Tim Butler. People who are passionate about the sport, passionate about getting people involved as participants, spectators, sponsors, and supporters. Volunteers hand out numbers at race registration, they pass out water at race aid stations, encourage runners at mile 45 of a 50 mile trail race, write stories for their club newsletters, seek sponsors for training programs, and serve meals at club meetings. Volunteers are not only special, but integral to the growth and successes of our sport. If you’ve never volunteered at an event, consider doing so. It is just as rewarding as crossing the finish line!