Want to give back? The Maine Marathon needs your help…

by | Sports

This morning, I wrote about some of the difficulties that marathons face when considering their environmental impact. It can cost thousands of dollars more to go green than to not worry about such things.

Another difficulty marathon directors face is finding the manpower to take care of all the tasks that need to be done on race day. A marathon such as the Maine Marathon relies on over 600 volunteers to support the runners, although many of those 600 also run the race themselves.

As of the last count, there are over 130 volunteer slots yet to be filled this weekend.

If you have a little spare time and want to give back to your local community, sign up to volunteer for one of the needed positions.

There are 3 areas that currently have the largest needs.

  • Sag Vehicle: There is currently no sag vehicle for the 2nd half of the marathon. The sag vehicle follows the last runner and periodically calls the race officials to let them know where they are. Gasoline will be reimbursed.
  • Emergency van and/or driver (not sure where the sign up page is): A van and a driver is needed to stay parked along the route in case somebody needs to be transported off of the course for any reason. Medical personnel will call the driver if s/he is needed. Gasoline will be reimbursed.
  • Traffic Control: There are traffic control positions open all along the course, some of which don’t require much of a commitment in time. Volunteers are needed for Portland Shift 1, Falmouth/Cumberland/Yarmouth, and Portland Shift 2.

If you like the idea of the sag vehicle but don’t want to be stuck in a car, then Team Atayne is still looking for a half dozen people to help clean up after the runners. You can run anywhere from a few miles to the entire distance, trailing the last runners and picking up trash as you go. As I mentioned this morning, you’ll also receive a free shirt from Atayne.

There are plenty of positions open; the ones I’ve listed only amount to a few dozen of the 130+ as of when I’m writing this. If you are going to be in Southern Maine this weekend and want to help out, I highly recommend volunteering. You can see the open positions by clicking here.