Volunteering

I started volunteering at Parkrun as a way of still being part of the community, especially if I had an event on the Sunday. And what is great about volunteering at Parkrun is that you can earn milestone t-shirts.

I am the proud owner of the purple 25 milestone t-shirt.

There are many roles you can take over on the day from tail runner, marshalling, time keeper, tokens or even scanner, all are just as important and imperative to help make Parkrun a successful day.

Pacing

I was lucky enough to get the Ballot of London Landmarks Half Marathon a couple of years back, and this is where I found myself running with a pacer, and came in at the time I was aiming for.

I was intrigued and found the company that runs the pacers at a lot events around London and the Southeast, and register my interest in pacing.

Pacing is great fun and gives you a real sense of giving back to the running community.

While you don't get paid, you do get free entry into the race, a medal and all the goodies that go along with the event, and all the thank you's as you cross the line.

http://www.xempo.co.uk

Being part of the event crew

This is a great way to get race credits. My husband and I was part of the crew at Hever Castle Triathlon run by the Castle series. It was an early start but was was greeted by hot bacon/sausage baps and a hot drink.

We was asked to select a pre-packed lunch and off we went in the minibus to our designated spot on the cycle course.

Once the last riders had gone through, we were collected and returned back to the event.

We opted for money as I had already paid for the event I was competing in the next day, but looking on the Castle series website there are a variety of ways you can get credited for your time. See below:

https://www.castleraceseries.com/get-involved

EVENT CREW

We are always looking for fantastic marshals for our sporting events. Crew will receive a t-shirt, free camping, meals throughout the day and brilliant experiences. There are a number of ways to get involved:

• Trading Places Marshal – marshal the course one day, race for free the next. Our trading places role includes: A free race place (up to Olympic triathlon, 50% for Gauntlet and ultras)

• Paid Marshal – marshal the course and we’ll top up your bank account.

• Charity Marshal – marshal the course and we will donate money to your chosen charity.

Other fun ways to get involved

Your local club's will always need help if they are running their own events, and this is a great way to get involved.

I belong to the a local run club, and have helped at a few of their races, from marshalling, helping set up the race and I was even trusted to look after the cake stall...lol

So what are you waiting for, get involved, its fun, rewarding and you might even get paid!

Sorcha x