No running event could take place without the support of volunteers, and when you volunteer at an event you could be making the difference between someone finishing and not finishing the race - this has happened many times. At every race we put on last year the runners were absolutely full of praise for the volunteers at the aid stations along the way. We try to make Albion events a fun and friendly experience for the runners and people who volunteer at our races seem to help with this naturally!

WHAT ROLES ARE THERE?

Aid station Volunteers: You will be helping runners to refill their water bottles, finding them a snack that they feel they could do with at the time, tick off the runners as they go through and offering encouragement as they get ready to tackle the next section. All aid station supplies are provided - these will be a range of sweet and savoury snacks, water, coke, squash, bin bags and paper plates etc. You can choose an aid station to help at which works for you both in terms of location and timings. A free place in a race is available to those who help out for the whole day.

Registration Volunteers: You will help with registration for the race - there will be a list of runners to tick off so you may be doing this or finding the runner's race number. This may not seem like the most glamorous role but you will be helping to put runners at ease before the race, which can make a massive difference. 

Finish Line Volunteers: You will help the race director to note down race numbers of runners as they finish, help to support the runners with anything they may need when their race is done, you might hand out medals or refreshments. This is an exciting role as you get to se the runners achieve something spectacular - there may be long periods of time where it's quiet but other times when it gets busy, especially during Ham & Lyme.

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Sweepers: You will run a little behind the final runner and take down red & white marker tape as you go - this can be given in at each aid station along the way. You can sweep the whole route if you feel fit enough or part of it - any amount of the course is a massive help. We usually prefer to have two sweepers running together just for extra safety as you are likely to be out a long time.

Transport Help: If you would be happy to help on the day in a transport capacity on the day - assist with getting runners who DNF and don't have supporters with them to where they need to be, or getting runners to the car park after the race for Mendip Marauder especially, where car park for the bus is a fair way from the finish, this is another vital role. 

Course Marking and Takedown Volunteers: If you have some time on the week of the race to either help put up course markings or to take them down after the race has finished this can save a significant amount of time for the race director so other vital tasks can be done with less time pressure. 

 

 

If you are interested in volunteering please drop us a line at albionrunning@hotmail.com - let us know which event(s) you're available to help at and how long you are available for, if you have a preferred role/location etc. As an idea of how important volunteers are, these are a couple of bits of feedback we've received: - 

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"I've done a few ultras now and the marshalls on your race are definitely the best. They couldn't have been more helpful and understanding."

"As far as your own events go, they are exactly what I look for in an event and all of them have been enjoyable in different ways and for different reasons, but with a common thread and that is the quality of the aid stations and the people that run them. Paul and his wife are prime examples of this  - taking time to speak to all the runners and ensuring they had what they needed. They definitely help to make the effort of running the events worth it."