Aid Station Videos
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Aid station video
Note: This video was made when we used Skratch. We are now using TAILWIND. Please refer to the energy drink as TAILWIND.
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Gu Tree How-to
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Zones and Zone Captains
Zone 1: Brook Mitchell 252-515-4876
Aid Station #1 (Walnut), #9 (Rivers Edge), #14 (VTC)
Zone 2: Mary Lou Legg 540-815-8337
Aid Station #2 (Spur), #3 (Campground), #8 (Star)
Zone 3: Skip Huffman 540-400-4854
Aid Station #4 (Gum Springs), #5 (Middle Roanoke Mtn), #6 (Top Roanoke Mtn)
Zone 4: Tracy Turner 540-353-3157
Aid Station #10 (Somerset), #11 (Peakwood), #12 (West Ridge), #13 (27th/Crystal Spring)
Zone 5: Alec Muthig 307-399-4239
Aid Station #15 (Ferdinand), #16 (Jesus Saves), #17 (6th Street)
Aid Station #1 (Walnut), #9 (Rivers Edge), #14 (VTC)
Zone 2: Mary Lou Legg 540-815-8337
Aid Station #2 (Spur), #3 (Campground), #8 (Star)
Zone 3: Skip Huffman 540-400-4854
Aid Station #4 (Gum Springs), #5 (Middle Roanoke Mtn), #6 (Top Roanoke Mtn)
Zone 4: Tracy Turner 540-353-3157
Aid Station #10 (Somerset), #11 (Peakwood), #12 (West Ridge), #13 (27th/Crystal Spring)
Zone 5: Alec Muthig 307-399-4239
Aid Station #15 (Ferdinand), #16 (Jesus Saves), #17 (6th Street)
Times
Aid Station Diagrams
Standard Aid Station Instructions
We will have all of the supplies delivered to your aid station location very early on Saturday. Those aid stations with food will have the fruit bagged with the tables put on top of them to ensure critters don't get their hands on the bananas before the racers do.
Please park all vehicles with all four wheels off the pavement where possible. This is required for those stations along Mill Mountain and Blue Ridge Parkway. For aid stations in the city, if at all possible, park on a street that is not part of the race course. Detailed parking directions are included in your aid station specific instructions.
WHEN YOU ARRIVE
Please go through the following checklist and notify your zone captain if anything is amiss:
SET UP
Please set up the tables SPACED OUT in a line along the race course according to your diagram. You should have coolers, extra water jugs (unless you have a spigot at your stop), cups, containers of Tailwind energy drink, food and gels at designated aid stations.
Your Tailwind coolers will be marked and will come pre-mixed with Tailwind. Take the tops off and STIR the liquid- the stuff settles! When you need to mix more Tailwind, use 1 bag of Tailwind to 5-6 gallons of water. Anything less than that and the concentration is too strong and may cause the racers stomach distress. Don’t forget to wear gloves when mixing Tailwind and filling cups.
Fill all of the coolers making sure you have one extra cooler of Tailwind mixture, as that takes a little longer to make. Keep the coolers on the ground and take the tops off. Now it’s time to fill the cups. There are two different types of cups: WHITE compostable cups for water, and BROWN compostable cups for the Tailwind. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ONLY PUT WATER IN THE WHITE CUPS AND Tailwind IN THE BROWN CUPS. Dunk the cups into the tops of the coolers and fill them only 1/2 full. Any more than that and the racers will just splash the fluid all over themselves. This method is much, much faster for filling cups and will be helpful when the largest crush of racers are coming by.
Brown Tailwind cups should be on the first table(s), then white water cups on the second table(s), and for those stations that have food, the food should be on the last table.
WHEN USING A HOSE
Only use the White hoses provided by us. They are drinking water hoses and we know they've never had chemicals like weed killer or fertilizer in them. Please run the water for 1-2 minutes to “flush” the hose prior to filling the coolers.
DURING THE RACE
Fill the tables with cups that are half full with water or Tailwind. Remember, Tailwind in the brown cups on the first table(s), and water in the white cups on the second table(s). If you have cardboard sheets, lay cardboard over the filled cups and make a second layer of filled cups. When the runners come by, stand next to the table and hold out cups for the runners using the two-finger method or the flat hand method. Call out what you are distributing- Tailwind or Water.
Designate one person that is focused on collecting compost and trash. At the busiest food stations you may need 2 volunteers. There will be CLEAR bags to collect the compostable cups and food waste at all aid stations. Gel paks are trash. CLEAR bags are for compostables (cups & food scraps) and BLACK bags for trash. Since few people like dealing with trash, please switch off volunteers in this job periodically.
You'll want to have one or two people picking up the hundreds of cups that get tossed on the ground. When picking up the cups, It's best to dump any left over fluid and stack the cups. That makes it easier to fill the trash bags. There will be one trash box at each aid station and lots of clear compost bags. Please line the box with a clear bag, and place it a few yards beyond the aid station for runners to toss their cups in. Most will miss, but it keeps the cups in a general area. You can change out bags as they fill up.
Refill the coolers, fill more cups, wipe, place the fluid filled cups out for the racers, clean up the mess and cheer everyone on. Repeat.
A note about sanitation: We are providing gloves for your use. Please wear them when mixing Tailwind, handling cups, cutting fruit, and handing out cups. They are also very useful for picking up trash so hands don’t get too sticky with Tailwind & gel. However, please remind those picking up trash that once they start picking up trash, they need to change gloves before handing out cups again.
CLEAN UP
The last racer will be followed by one or two people on bikes. Please give them a warm welcome. Take any course marshal flags from the sweepers and store them with the aid station gear. Once the sweep bicycle(s) come through, please clean up your station. As you can imagine, there is lot of clean-up after a big event like this, so everything you can do to help us out is appreciated. Please do the following:
Please park all vehicles with all four wheels off the pavement where possible. This is required for those stations along Mill Mountain and Blue Ridge Parkway. For aid stations in the city, if at all possible, park on a street that is not part of the race course. Detailed parking directions are included in your aid station specific instructions.
WHEN YOU ARRIVE
Please go through the following checklist and notify your zone captain if anything is amiss:
- Check your inventory against the list- is everything here?
- Are Port-a-Jons here and upright?
- Do you understand where the runners will be coming from and going to?
- Are any course markings worn off or needed?
- Do you have enough people to help (did everyone show up?)?
- Do you have a designated course marshal and instructions for him/her?
SET UP
Please set up the tables SPACED OUT in a line along the race course according to your diagram. You should have coolers, extra water jugs (unless you have a spigot at your stop), cups, containers of Tailwind energy drink, food and gels at designated aid stations.
Your Tailwind coolers will be marked and will come pre-mixed with Tailwind. Take the tops off and STIR the liquid- the stuff settles! When you need to mix more Tailwind, use 1 bag of Tailwind to 5-6 gallons of water. Anything less than that and the concentration is too strong and may cause the racers stomach distress. Don’t forget to wear gloves when mixing Tailwind and filling cups.
Fill all of the coolers making sure you have one extra cooler of Tailwind mixture, as that takes a little longer to make. Keep the coolers on the ground and take the tops off. Now it’s time to fill the cups. There are two different types of cups: WHITE compostable cups for water, and BROWN compostable cups for the Tailwind. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ONLY PUT WATER IN THE WHITE CUPS AND Tailwind IN THE BROWN CUPS. Dunk the cups into the tops of the coolers and fill them only 1/2 full. Any more than that and the racers will just splash the fluid all over themselves. This method is much, much faster for filling cups and will be helpful when the largest crush of racers are coming by.
Brown Tailwind cups should be on the first table(s), then white water cups on the second table(s), and for those stations that have food, the food should be on the last table.
WHEN USING A HOSE
Only use the White hoses provided by us. They are drinking water hoses and we know they've never had chemicals like weed killer or fertilizer in them. Please run the water for 1-2 minutes to “flush” the hose prior to filling the coolers.
DURING THE RACE
Fill the tables with cups that are half full with water or Tailwind. Remember, Tailwind in the brown cups on the first table(s), and water in the white cups on the second table(s). If you have cardboard sheets, lay cardboard over the filled cups and make a second layer of filled cups. When the runners come by, stand next to the table and hold out cups for the runners using the two-finger method or the flat hand method. Call out what you are distributing- Tailwind or Water.
Designate one person that is focused on collecting compost and trash. At the busiest food stations you may need 2 volunteers. There will be CLEAR bags to collect the compostable cups and food waste at all aid stations. Gel paks are trash. CLEAR bags are for compostables (cups & food scraps) and BLACK bags for trash. Since few people like dealing with trash, please switch off volunteers in this job periodically.
You'll want to have one or two people picking up the hundreds of cups that get tossed on the ground. When picking up the cups, It's best to dump any left over fluid and stack the cups. That makes it easier to fill the trash bags. There will be one trash box at each aid station and lots of clear compost bags. Please line the box with a clear bag, and place it a few yards beyond the aid station for runners to toss their cups in. Most will miss, but it keeps the cups in a general area. You can change out bags as they fill up.
Refill the coolers, fill more cups, wipe, place the fluid filled cups out for the racers, clean up the mess and cheer everyone on. Repeat.
A note about sanitation: We are providing gloves for your use. Please wear them when mixing Tailwind, handling cups, cutting fruit, and handing out cups. They are also very useful for picking up trash so hands don’t get too sticky with Tailwind & gel. However, please remind those picking up trash that once they start picking up trash, they need to change gloves before handing out cups again.
CLEAN UP
The last racer will be followed by one or two people on bikes. Please give them a warm welcome. Take any course marshal flags from the sweepers and store them with the aid station gear. Once the sweep bicycle(s) come through, please clean up your station. As you can imagine, there is lot of clean-up after a big event like this, so everything you can do to help us out is appreciated. Please do the following:
- Clean off tables with a rag & leftover water from a cooler.
- Rinse any Tailwind coolers with water from the water coolers. If a hose is available, use it.
- Break down the tables
- Put all the trash bags together
- Load everything off the road for race staff to pick up. For security of the materials, we need one person to stay with the aid station materials until the U-Haul gets to your station to load it all up.
- For stations on the Parkway property, you MAY NOT leave your station until a ranger or ZONE CAPTAIN tells you that you can.
Radio Communication
Each aid station will be assigned a hand-held radio. Use of the radios is for official race business only and channels are monitored by authorities. Please assign one responsible person to man the radio. This person can do all the other stuff too, but should also be the one to keep track of any radio communications that apply to your aid station.
RADIO 101:
Radio batteries last a long time when you are listening, but transmitting drains the batteries quicker. Therefore, only transmit when needed.
Whenever you need to transmit, press the talk button, pause for 1-2 seconds, then identify yourself by your aid station location (i.e. "Star to HQ") then release the talk button to wait for a response. The pause is necessary so the first part of your sentence doesn’t get cut off and allows for the radio repeater to pick up and transmit. Please refer to yourself as the aid station name.
Here’s some basic terminology:
BREAK Emergency. (WHEN THIS IS SAID, THERE MUST BE RADIO SILENCE.)
REPEAT
COPY I understood.
STAND BY Wait for another transmission.
NEGATIVE No.
AFFIRMATIVE Yes/go ahead
CLEAR All OK.
STATUS Request for description of injury or physical damage.
SAY AGAIN Repeat.
CORRECTION I made an error.
MORE TO FOLLOW If your transmission is complicated & you need to say many words
If there is a medical emergency at your station:
Phone numbers you may need: (Please use radios first- use phone if radios are not working at all).
Moe Huffman - HQ: 540-588-3470
Dr. Mark Kasmer, medical director: 440-242-9033
Andy Foley, EMS control: 540-798-0558
Your Zone Captain: (see above)
Molly Bullington - Race Director 540-798-8495
RADIO 101:
Radio batteries last a long time when you are listening, but transmitting drains the batteries quicker. Therefore, only transmit when needed.
Whenever you need to transmit, press the talk button, pause for 1-2 seconds, then identify yourself by your aid station location (i.e. "Star to HQ") then release the talk button to wait for a response. The pause is necessary so the first part of your sentence doesn’t get cut off and allows for the radio repeater to pick up and transmit. Please refer to yourself as the aid station name.
Here’s some basic terminology:
BREAK Emergency. (WHEN THIS IS SAID, THERE MUST BE RADIO SILENCE.)
REPEAT
COPY I understood.
STAND BY Wait for another transmission.
NEGATIVE No.
AFFIRMATIVE Yes/go ahead
CLEAR All OK.
STATUS Request for description of injury or physical damage.
SAY AGAIN Repeat.
CORRECTION I made an error.
MORE TO FOLLOW If your transmission is complicated & you need to say many words
If there is a medical emergency at your station:
- If there is other transmission taking place, cut in when you can with a slow “BREAK, BREAK, BREAK”
- Call to HQ: “X Aid Station to HQ”
- When you get a response, describe the situation/answer questions.
- DO NOT use the term “runner down” or anything of the like unless you have an unresponsive (unconscious) runner.
- When the situation is resolved, or medical traffic is taken onto other channels, HQ will announce when you can resume normal radio traffic.
- Medical emergencies
- Supply emergencies
- 1st Full or Half runner(s) through your stop.
- Sweep vehicle through your stop
- Check-in with HQ on setup
- When you first get your radio and your station is set up, ready to go, please call into HQ to test radio communications to see if we can hear you and vice versa.
- Report to headquarters (HQ) when the first marathon and (if applicable) first half-marathon runners pass by your station.
- Report to headquarters (HQ) when last runner and sweep bikers pass your station.
- Call for medical assistance. There will be medical personnel at almost all aid stations, but if it is something that requires more than what they can handle, they will need to call for assistance. Medical personnel and the designated radio person should be the only people using the radio.
- Call your zone captain for resupply if needed.
Phone numbers you may need: (Please use radios first- use phone if radios are not working at all).
Moe Huffman - HQ: 540-588-3470
Dr. Mark Kasmer, medical director: 440-242-9033
Andy Foley, EMS control: 540-798-0558
Your Zone Captain: (see above)
Molly Bullington - Race Director 540-798-8495
Crisis Messaging/Emergency Info
In the event of an emergency, here's the CRISIS INFORMATION SIGN.
In the event of a weather emergency, natural disaster, or other emergency situation, the course may be shut down by race management. If this happens, an announcement will be made over the radios, and HQ may ask each aid station to confirm that they heard the announcement. If this happens, we need you to do the following:
In the event of a weather emergency, natural disaster, or other emergency situation, the course may be shut down by race management. If this happens, an announcement will be made over the radios, and HQ may ask each aid station to confirm that they heard the announcement. If this happens, we need you to do the following:
- Break down the aid station- fold up the tent, clean up the trash, and fold up tables. In the event of high winds, place tables on top of trash bags and other loose items to prevent them from blowing away.
- Volunteer course marshals are given permission to abandon their posts;
- Aid station captains are allowed to release their volunteers, but captains must take shelter at and stay at or near their aid station (in your car is most likely the best option).
- When runners arrive at your aid station, tell them the following:
- the course is shut down,
- they may take shelter at the aid station to await pickup by a bus, or
- they may continue on the course AT THEIR OWN RISK; there will NOT be course marshals in place telling them where to go.
- Buses will be deployed along the race route to pick up runners. Once a bus gets to your aid station and picks up all runners, please radio to your zone captain that all runners are picked up and request the zone captain to come get your radio. If possible, please wait with the aid station materials until the zone captain or other race official gets to your aid station.
Remaining Inventory
Please fill out this form when your aid station is shutting down: CLICK HERE