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Let down by my cheering squad
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 2005-08-22 4:49 PM |
Veteran  150   Los Angeles |  Subject: Let down by my cheering squadI am planning to tackle my second olympic in three weeks, the LA city tri. It will also be my birthday, so I told my family and friends that instead of getting me gifts or having a party, I invited them all to volunteer at the race and cheer me along. I had volunteered at the LA tri last year and had a blast. I told them that volunteering is fun and easy. All I had to do was show up around 9am at T2 and then man the water station at the start of the run. My husband, parents, brother and some friends said they'd be happy to volunteer. Today I found out that the folks organizing the volunteers are different this year and have changed the set up. Now the volunteer shifts all start at 5:30am. Of course, after having sold them on an easy start at 9am, my family said that 5:30am is much too early and they won't volunteer. I am so bummed! I can't say I blame them; that is asking alot for a Saturday morning. Heck, considering my wave starts at 7:20, I'm not even going to get there by 5:30am. I guess it is more the volunteer coordinator's fault than anyone else's. I doubt they'll get many volunteers this way. And my cheering squad say they will still try to come and see me at the finish, but it is not the same. I found it such a blast to volunteer and cheer on all the racers. I thought it would be great to give my family a taste of the thrill I get out of triathlon. I was really looking forward to having to seeing them at T2 and during the run, but now, at most, it'll be when I'm all done. Am I getting too upset about this? Edited by esparkhu 2005-08-22 4:50 PM |
| 2005-08-22 4:54 PM in reply to: #231164 |
| Subject: RE: Let down by my cheering squad Beg your cheering squad to get up at Oh dark thirty just for you because it's your birthday. It's only one morning. There is something fun about seeing the race site come to life as the racers arrive. BEG I say. |
| 2005-08-22 5:00 PM in reply to: #231164 |
Master 1889  Ann Arbor, MI | Subject: RE: Let down by my cheering squad Wow. 5:30 is darn early for most people. Still, it is your birthday. Can you call the coordinator and ask if she can take a later group if there are a bunch of them? |
| 2005-08-22 5:07 PM in reply to: #231175 |
Veteran 150 Los Angeles | Subject: RE: Let down by my cheering squad nliedel - 2005-08-22 2:00 PM Can you call the coordinator and ask if she can take a later group if there are a bunch of them? I did call the coordinator. I was hoping my brother had gotten some misinformation about not having a choice of start times or talked to the wrong person. I told the head volunteer guy that I had recruited about 5 people to volunteer, but at 9am. That was what I did last year. He said the folks who organized the volunteers last year ( I think it was the team in training people) are not doing it this time and they've changed the volunteer set up. I told him he'd be missing out on alot of potential volunteers, not just my squad, by making the start time so early. My arguements did not sway him. |
| 2005-08-22 5:13 PM in reply to: #231164 |
Master 1889 Ann Arbor, MI | Subject: RE: Let down by my cheering squad well poo on toast. OK think Liedel, think. OK how about they come down at 9, as planned and take you to breakfast? It is not the same but you will be starving after the race and able to eat a lot of pancakes. I race for pancakes. |
| 2005-08-22 5:18 PM in reply to: #231164 |
| Sydney Australia | Subject: |
| 2005-08-22 5:46 PM in reply to: #231185 |
Elite 3235 San Diego | Subject: RE: Let down by my cheering squad As my wife pointed out to me before she got into triathlons "Tris are not very spectator friendly". You get up at the crack of dawn to stand around and watch people mill around their bikes. Then you watch people you don't know get in the water and swim away. A while later you watch as those same people get out of the water and run past you. When the person you are cheering for goes by you yell "Yay, looking good, etc", then they disappear for an hour so. Then they return to T2 where you yell "Yay, looking good, etc" as they run off for another hour on the run. Then you hang out until they come across the finish line, where you yell "yay, looking good congratulations" If I'm not mistaken isn't LA a point to point race? Which IMO, is even worse as far as spectating. I think if you can get your family out there, great! But you also have to understand that if they are not into it as much as you are, then it is a very very long day for them especially since they will only see you for a second or two over the course of a 2.5+ hour day. I have been triing for a few years now. My wife went to my first one then didn't go to another one until IMAZ. After that race she decided to tri herself, now she has been to every one of my races since then. It's still not spectator friendly with 2 kids, but she understands the race more and knows a few more people. Good luck with your race. I hope they do show up, too! |
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