The
morning is perfect, the temperature is 77 degrees and the
lake is quiet.
With
about two hours of sleep, my husband Bill and I arrive at
4:30 a.m. I've been at White Rock Lake early, but never
this early. Never with this nervous stomach. We check our
lists for at least the fiftieth time. This is it, the day.
Six months and many hours of preparation and it's race day!
Bill
and I meet my best friend Leah Burr, her husband Miles,
and a few others at the race site. I have already delegated
responsibilities. Bill is in charge of mile markers, water
stops, start-and-stop finish banners, the flag and traffic.
In the beginning, his staff was Miles, Steve Powell, Dick
Phelps, Russ Pate, Becky Pate, and four Citizens Emergency
Response Team members. The CERT team sets up orange cones
and starts traffic control -- letting volunteers and sponsors
park, telling participants where to park. Russ, Dick, Becky,
and Steve start putting up start-and-finish banners along
with the American flag.
Leah's
team is Marrisa Burr, Cissy Powell, Carol Burris, Steven
Phelps, Carye Williams, Maggie Saucedo, and Malise Flournoy.
They are responsible for setting up sponsor tables, food,
and organizing the race site.
Then the bus arrives with 30 tired, sleepy people from the
Austin Street Centre, reporting for duty. Their responsibility
is to work the water stops. The race is a 15k (9.3 miles
or one loop around White Rock Lake) or a 5k (3.1 mile) fun
run. The people working one of the eight stops will pass
out water and Accelerade. They will also to clean up any
cups or trash a racer might leave behind. Bill and Miles
take a trailer and a truck, with all the supplies and volunteers,
to the water stops.
Here
comes Smart Water with a cool truck -- flashing lights,
speaker system, and loud music. They will pass out water
at the finish line. Fuze drinks arrive, Dr. Matt Yocum chiropractor,
arrives and starts setting up his table. He is ready to
give a massage if necessary.
LaMadeleine
arrives, with baguettes with peanut butter and jelly. Competitor
Magazine arrives, with a bike to raffle. Here comes Don
Herring in a brand new Mitsubishi to display. Neal Hancock
has brought two Mazdas to show. Racing Systems is here:
they will time the event and have been responsible for packet
pick-up at the Run On locations.
They
use several volunteers to help set up and get ready to register
racers, pass out timing chips, and race packets. Here comes
Bouncenmore to set up the bounce house for the children.
NC Marketing arrives: they have helped with the design of
the race bags, tee shirts, banners, and awards. Balloons
to You shows up: they make our “finish” arch
in about 10 minutes. People from St John’s Episcopal
Church are here: they’re prepared with a banner, tables,
and free St. John’s shirts. Last but certainly not
least, four brand new Port-A-Potties, six garbage cans,
and an on-site ambulance arrive.
It's
now about 6:45 a.m. the race starts at 7:30. So far, nothing
has gone wrong. I haven't forgotten anything. Pinch me!
The sun is coming up, people are everywhere, and we are
ready to start the race, without a hitch. I'm too busy to
notice, but everything is going smoothly. With the runners
in place, the Rev. Beulah (Bubba) Dailey says a prayer for
all the racers.
Janice
Norwood sings the national anthem beautifully. I can still
breath, smile, and enjoy the moment. I can see God at the
Run for Shelter. I see His hand so very carefully producing
this race. I can witness God using just a regular person
– me -- with just regular friends, participating in
something spectacular.
All
participants finish the race healthy, feeling good, and
grateful. I had many -- not a few, but many – racers
tell me that this was the best race they had ever run. Not
necessarily the best time, but the best race in which they
had ever run. They stopped at every water stop. The people
working the stops were happy to see them, happy to participate,
happy to give them water. They said they felt the spirit
of the race or dare I say, God, at White Rock Lake. They
said they felt the water stop volunteers were like angels
looking out for them on the course.
The
race ended, the awards were given, participants and volunteers
left. More than 300 people registered for the race; 175
ran or walked. We had 40 sponsors and 65 volunteers. We
will net about $11,000, all for the Centre.
The
professional race directors to whom I’ve talked tell
me, "No first-year races make money. They all lose
money.” I wonder if any of these races ask God to
participate.
I
look forward to seeing all of you at the Run for Shelter
next year. Thanks for the sponsorship, for volunteering,
for your prayers, and confidence that God would lead all
of us through this race.
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