I drove over to Princetown to pick up the race clock, which had been set running with the correct time. I had to get this to the marathon point and tie it to the scaffolding that had already been set up. Now, this clock has a massive piece of cord that has a large start/stop button. I was treating this thing very delicately as if I'd accidentally stopped the clock, it would have been a bit embarrassing if the leader thought he'd gone through the marathon point in 1:23mins, or something! Anyway, the clock was up and running with no issues, so that was good.
My time-keeping mate had turned up, so we divided up our roles. Basically, we both had pieces of paper with race position written down from 1 to 240. My role was to record the runners' race numbers, and his role was to write the time. It worked really well I think, so that was good.
Weather-wise, there were just two very small showers, so that was fine and I had plenty of time to tuck into the free packed lunch that was provided to all helpers. The organiser said he caters for 150 helpers, which I think is a pointer to how many people are required to help at this massive event. Off the top of my head, there are the following:
- dozens of marshals across the course.
- several timekeepers at various points on the course.
- catering at the finish.
- massive scaffolding put up at the finish line, plus some at the marathon point to hang the race clock.
- someone goes around putting yellow arrows on the 32-mile course, at points where there may be confusion.
- drinks stations, some that have personalised drinks and food that have to be ferried to the correct position.
- Sweeper vans.
- People to clear the course.
- Radio people (Dartmoor Radio Club) who are there in case of issues, as mobile signal is non existent in places. In some places they put up their own massive aerials.
- Medical care (Dartmoor Medical Services)
- Lead bike
- organising shirts/hoodys/jackets available for sale.
- organising finishers t-shirts and medals.
- someone (not me, on this occasion) who writes the race report for the local press.
- PA system, with someone announcing runners as they come through.
- Time keeper.
- Results processing and publishing.
- Course measurer.
- Liaising with authorities to put the race on.
- I have probably missed lots of other roles, but you get the point! This is a massive undertaking.
Anyway, I settled into my chair eagerly awaiting the first runner, who was rumored to be on for extending his course record. Soon enough, he came into view and he just looked so smooth and in control. He went through the marathon point in 2hrs46 – honestly, I can’t really say how phenomenal this seems to me. Make no mistake; this is a tough course, but he looked like he was jogging. The second placed man, who is also a good runner, has the Trotters records for when he was a member and has won this race before was 15-minutes back. The chap ended up breaking the course record with a fantastic 3:29.
Here is a quick pic of him going through the marathon point, with “my” magnificent clock showing the correct time and me and my time-recording mate by the side of it (my wife took this and got shots of most competitors).
We settled into our roles – in hindsight, I had the slightly easier role as when runners were bunched up he had more to do. He occasionally missed a runner out, so we were constantly checking to make sure we were on the same race position. Many runners who had their race number obscured knew this, and shouted out their number as they passed which was great, so I feel this all went off without a hitch.
In terms of spectating, it was a great position. I saw the ecstasy of people knowing they had completed the marathon inside the cut off and could therefore walk the rest if they had to. I also saw the misery of others when they reaslised they still had 6-miles to go. Many runners looked like they were cruising, but many others looked like they were struggling immensely. Some runners just had their head down, whereas others wanted to stop and chat for a minute or so before carrying on. One thing I did notice was how many people seemed to speed up when they saw the marathon point, get through the line and then stop and walk, or stretch. I’d say about 25% did this.
The clock ticked past 5hrs15mins (the cut off) and there as no one in sight. Two people had been there for an hour or so, and it was their job to inform runners that they had missed the cut off. Unfortunately, this happened for two people who took it well in the circumstances but it was upsetting for them.
I took the race clock down, and my wife and I headed back to Princetown carefully overtaking many runners who were in various states. We parked up and cheered home the last 30 or so people and I must say that was really heart-warming. There were Dads who grabbed their young kids and ran with them through the finish, there was a mother and daughter combo (Trotters) who ran in together who were ecstatic, and there were many who looked like they needed a stiff drink!
So, all-in-all, a great experience for me, at an event that is organised by a fantastic running club. I’m left wondering “Can I run this, one day?”. We’ll see...
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