Helper Responsibilities
The Race Director must decide how many Helpers he needs on the day. A useful rule-of-thumb is that the overall organising team should have one member for every 25 runners. The Helpers need no specific skill.As a general rule, Helpers will not run in the race. For example, there is no point in a Helper accepting the task of manning a registration desk for a large race if he abandons his post to change clothes and warm up. Obviously Helpers manning the finish-line cannot run in the race.
Helpers need no prior training or experience. The roles and tasks they will perform are simple enough so that the Race Director can brief them sufficiently in a few minutes.
In large races, there are 5 roles that Helpers can perform that will require them to assume a post and accept responsibility to stay at that post for a period of time. These roles are:
- Registration Desk - for large races, there will usually be 2 Helpers at desks in addition to the Laptop Operator.
- Money Collection - one Helper
- Parking Control - usually one Helper
- Finish Line - for large races, there will usually be 2 Helpers in addition to the Laptop Operator, one at the start of the finish chute and one at the end.
- Summit, peak or turn-point Marshals - sometimes required
- Setting up registration desks, finish-line, water-station etc.
- Number collection & re-sorting after the race
- Packing up equipment after the race
- Un-marking the race route
- Setting up the prize-table
- Writing the race report for the website
- For selection races, performing a quality-check on the route before the race
- Searching for and picking up runners that may have strayed off-route, either by car or by retracing the route
