Volunteering - We Wouldn't Have Races Without Them

I had the chance to volunteer at the Omaha Marathon today.  Since I just had a big race last weekend, I felt a week or solid recovery was much more important than running my hometown race.  Since I was free, I thought volunteering would be a great idea.  After all, we wouldn't have races without the volunteers.  I wanted to be a course monitor so I could cheer on fellow runners.  I was posted at mile 18.5 (roughly), where the course made a sharp right turn.  I saw every marathoner out there today, from the lead men and women, to the those at the very end who were walking.  It was an amazing experience.  I highly suggest any runner out there to make sure and volunteer when you can, to give back.  We all love to race, and I think many of us (myself included) take the volunteers for granted sometimes.  Truly, as I mentioned, we couldn't do the races without them. Loved seeing how hard everyone was working, regardless of their pace.  They were all working hard for their individual effort level.  Bravo to all the marathoners out there this morning, I was both sad and glad.  Glad to be able to help to give back, but sad that I wasn't out there running with them.  It was a beautiful morning for a run.