Sunday, March 9, 2008

Heaven Helps those that Help Jim!

Today, my great friend, the Good Doctor, and I had a darn good time helping out Race Director/Promoter/Sponsor extraordinaire, Jim Hartnett at the Squiqqy Classic runs at Trout Creek.

Anytime you can help Jim out you really should. He's a wonderful guy, and he puts on fabulous races. Plus volunteering is a hoot! You get the race excitement without the sweaty clothes and muddy shoes!

I had a good time cheering on the runners as I handed them water. It's kind of hard to think of anything that doesn't sound dumb or condescending though. For the 5K our aid station was at 1.1 miles, shoot, they haven't even broken a sweat yet, so they should look great. As for the 15K, our station was at 7.3 miles. The leaders didn't want to hear from us, and the rest just wanted to be done. But we gave it a try. The Good Doctor is better at it than I am. She stuck to, "looking great" or "Way to go." I should have done the same.

I found out, "You're not almost there." While honest, isn't very motivating.
I found out, "You're doing great given your body type." While honest isn't very motivating.
I found out, I should probably just be in charge of filling up the cups and keep my yap shut!

Still, I had fun.

13 comments:

Chase Squires said...

Man, even when he's NOT racing, he has something "interesting" to say to other runners ... Dude, you're like one of those dogs that gets banned from the dog park for not playing well with others :-)

Mr. Matt said...

I only did the best I could. Besides, I was a hit, I was the belle of the ball, I was only josh about being anoying, wasn't I Good Doctor, come on, back me up!

Mr. Matt said...

Hey, and you just called me a dog! What kind? I've always thought of myself as a Greyhound-Pitbull mix, but with a sunny disposition.

Arlene said...

You should have yelled "Gatorade and vodka" instead of "water". I did that the last time that I worked an aid station. It was during a 5 mile/5K race sponsored by the Moffitt Center. We got the "runners" at the beginning of their trek and on the way back. Somehow, they didn't believe us, especially when they tasted our concoction and realized that it was water-flavored Gatorade.

But it did pass the time and it made me feel good to help out in this worthwhile fundraiser for the cancer hospital.

You should be proud of yourself for adding a little joy and hydration for these participants who got up early after losing one hour of sleep. I know I would have! :)

Anonymous said...

He was indeed the belle of the ball - motivating and cheering on most of the runners. Although I'm not sure telling the last few runners they "might have been better off sleeping in this morning" was terribly motivating...

Mr. Matt said...

See, my motivating wasn't terrible, that's what she said. See Chase, see!

The Professor said...

I prefer the truth over some bloated motivational saying. I always knew that the volunteer/spectator was full of crap when they told me that I was "looking strong" while I was stumbling around with dried puke on my chin.

My favorite is "you're only a few minutes behind Stephen Hawking" (man...I just pissed myself off for saying that).

superdave524 said...

Yeah, I got one of those shirts that says "see ya!". Something about truth in advertising laws though. They made me put the logo on the front of my shirt. When I'm ambling, the last thing I want is the truth. 'Course, I'd like to be able to convince myself the lie is true, though, so "looking strong" maybe isn't great either. How about, "The dude in front of you said you suck!". That'd speed me up.

Lynne said...

"You're not almost there" ? You know you can find something more optimistic to say than that. At least Good Doctor was there to kick your butt. If she didn't she will next time.

Mr. Matt said...

In my defense, the person asked, "Am I almost there." Er, percentage wise? Compared to what?

In the future, I don't know, I just work here, yeah that's the ticket.

Star said...

So, Belle, how'd the yellow gown work out for you? Did you wear your tiara too? I'm sure THAT motivated people to keep running...away from you :)

Mr. Matt said...

Oh, you're just Jealous cause I had Johnny'e head on my body!

Lan said...

At the same race/water station as Arlene, I said "tequila, tastes like water". Ok so it was a lie, but it made them runners smile! At least you were out there, I was at the Strawberry festival eating! Thanks for serving dude! :)