Visitor Count: A Bazillion!

The first runner hits the Ribbon Road on Route 66 outside of Afton -- Photo by Sarah D.

The Mother Road 100 Super Marathon was responsible for the first time Afton Station has had more visitors than we could count! What a day! And my little band of volunteers, all "super marathon virgins", learned so much from the experience.

First, thanks so much to the incredible volunteers: Robin (who was in charge of sales and sold almost $400 in merchandise), Ron M. (in charge of drinks and much more), Betty W. and Tattoo Man (who manned the food table), Betty B. (who sorted out and distributed the "drop bags", among other tasks), Marly (who did just about everything else, including running to the Dollar Store for another two cases of noodle soup), Brad and LaSandra (who showed up and surprised me, then stayed and worked to the bitter end. Brad also took some awesome photos), Phil (who worked while wounded for a while), and my kid Sarah (who was in charge of runner weigh-ins until her dad came and took her away).
Most of the crew --from left, Sarah, member of marathon crew in background, Tattoo Man, Marlene (Betty W's sister), LaSandra, Betty B., Robin, Betty W.

None of us knew what we were doing, but with the help of some folks from the race committee, by the time the first of the 178 runners arrived we were somewhat organized. The runners were a delightful group, much more delightful than I'd be if I'd just run 33 miles and still had 67 more to go! Besides a couple of blisters, they all seemed to be doing well and were in good shape.

Here's what we learned:
* They sure love warm noodle soup! We went through many gallons.
* They sure love PB &J sandwiches! We ran out!
* They sure love gummy bears, bananas and trail mix.
* They don't really love pretzels, energy bars, fig newtons, and cut-up oranges.
* As expected, they went through gallons of water and Gatorade.
* They wanted potatoes, and I didn't have any because I thought it was weird. Who knew?
* Ron M. and Brad both took photos. Some are here, and I'll save some for tomorrow.
* They nearly all had pit crews, usually consisting of several people in cars tracking them. That's what accounts for the mob scene we had all day at the Station, at least 300 folks, probably more.

The majority of the runners came in between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. They weighed in, changed clothes, grabbed some food and drink, massaged their feet, and headed out again. The whole thing was incredibly fun, entertaining, and exhausting.


Sarah at the weighing-in station

Phil Rosenstein and his girlfriend. See blog entry from Oct. 2, 2008. Nice to see him again!

Runners were still arriving well after dark

There will be lots more photos and lots more to this interesting story tomorrow. For now, good night!