This Fall I signed up to volunteer for several race events with the Hartford Marathon Foundation. For the Hartford Marathon I volunteered to work the merchandise area of the expo at the XL Center. I worked on Thursday from 2:15 – 7:30.
I arrived to the expo on time and checked in at the volunteer check-in area. From there I was given a t-shirt and a swag bag and was instructed to head to the merchandise area where I met up with the other volunteers working there.
The expo was set up a different way this year. When you arrive, you met with the volunteers to give you your bib and race information. After that you went around a corner to the shirt area where you received your shirt, then the gear bag for race day check-in of your gear. Then you went around another corner to the RunHMF merchandise area where there was a great selection of RunHMF shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, tanks, hats, beanies, glasses, mugs, magnets and much more. The organization of the layout of the expo was perfect to weave the people from the registration desk, to the shirts, to the merchandise, forcing them to walk through that large area of Hartford specific merchandise, giving it a lot of visibility.
I stationed myself at the T-shirt bar and helped people find shirt sizes they liked along with any additional help they had with merchandise on the floor. It was a lot of fun to watch people come around the corner and see all of the items for sale and the looks on the faces of first timers at a race expo. I had the pleasure of talking with one runner named Sara. She was shopping specifically for half marathon merchandise. This race was going to be her first half marathon, and I completely related to how she felt about wanted to wear something proud about having run a half marathon. So I helped her decide on purchasing the 13.1 grey and white sweatshirt. She was aiming for a 2:30 finish time and I told her I was as well so I was hoping I’d see her at the race.
I saw a few friends come through to shop like Kimberly Markey and Lori Connelly so we talked and then they continued on to shop the rest of the expo. I also made it a point to Face Book live stream so others could see the merchandise that was being sold for when they pick up their packets the following day. It was a good way to give people a preview of what they wanted to purchase.
I had a great time volunteering and look forward to doing more things like this in the future. I plan to volunteer and pass out medals for the kid races at the Movember races in Middletown. My kids are interested in running the mile run so that I could pass out their medals to them. It was a great experience to be on the other side of the experience and give back to the sport that I love so much. I also enjoyed talking to the runners and interfacing with them, discussing their expectations for the race and what they have run in the past.