ING Wheeler Escort
Sunday, March 29th will be the third running of the ING Georgia Marathon and Half-Marathon. Atlanta has a large running community that grew up with the Peachtree Road Race 10K and the ING Marathon satisfies a hunger for the longer distance races.
As with the Peachtree, wheelchair racers take the course prior to the runners. This year, I've volunteered to escort "wheelers" on my bike during the race.
Because racing wheelchairs move as fast as cyclists, cyclists match up well for providing visibility, pointing out road hazards, indicating a line to hold through corners, and keeping pedestrians off the course. As volunteers, we become familiar with the course and learn where the trouble spots will be. Downhills with tight turns at the bottom count high on the trouble spot list.
I should have some photos once we race, but since we start before the runners, it will be dark at the start. I don't think any amount of darkness however will hide the excitement.
posted by Jett @ 5:46 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
This comment has been removed by the author.
hey
how do you get a blog with cycling.com?
I've registered the domain name jettmarks.com (no one else wanted it -wink-).
What a cool way to volunteer!
I've heard good things about the excitement level for all the day's events, and am really looking forward to it. (I'll be running the half, and when I say running, I'm using the term loosely.)
The wheelchair racers are just phenomenal. I've seen them out training on the Silver Comet Trail and most of them are faster than me.
Post a Comment
<< Home