My First Triathlon...as a volunteer that is.

This morning I attended my first triathlon, not as a participant, but a volunteer. I decided that I wanted to try a sprint triathlon (400m swim, 10 mile bike, 5K run) this summer but I needed to see what it was about. I emailed the race director and asked if he needed any volunteers and he told me to show up Saturday morning at 7:00am and he would put me to work.

When I arrived there were several volunteers hanging around and only a couple of participants. I got my instruction as to what my job would be and then took a walk around. I checked the lake where the swimming portion of the race would be held and then walked along part of the path of the 5k run. After a meeting with all participants, I took my place...I was directing traffic in and out of the bike transition area. The gun went off and I could see that there were swimmers in the water. About 5 minutes later the first women made it o the transition area. I spent the next 20 minutes waving my arms and telling people to be aware as they rode on the streets. After the last rider left, I moved up he road a bit and waited for the first wave of cyclist to come back in. It was my job at that point to not only direct them into the transition area but get them to slow down to a safe speed. Many listened, a few did not. Oh well, no accidents or injuries.

After th last rider came in, I moved down to the finish line to cheer on the participants until the last one came in. It was a great experience for me as I was able to get a feel for the sprint triathlon, give back for some many of the races that I have run, and to meet some really great people. I am hoping to do this same triathlon on August 9th...I am pretty confident I can do it, it is my equipment(bike) that I am unsure of at this point.