When organizing a race, expect the unexpected…

Being a race director, Michelle Kempton has to be able to think on her feet. Especially when she arrives to the start line to find a load of lobster traps waiting…

I could write a book (and maybe one day I will) about the unexpected situations that arise when organizing a large marathon.

It’s critical for a race director to be able to manage hundreds of moving parts and watch for potential issues during race organization. The keys to success are remaining calm, quickly figuring out solutions and having reliable volunteers. Even with a plan, things happen. Some problems can be a serious crisis but more often than not, it’s the little issues that if ignored, could escalate.

Maritime Race Weekend is in the middle of a fishing community. That makes for a unique east coast experience but it doesn’t come without obstacles. Even though we’re holding a race, the fishermen still need to go to work. We work around each other and it isn’t a problem. But this year, just before the racers were scheduled to arrive, something came up with a fisherman. It could have been a bit of a situation.

While making my final rounds, I noticed a man loading his truck of lobster traps about 100 feet from the start line. It looked like a slow process and that’s when I realized we might have a problem…

I approached him to find out when he planned to leave. He said he’d be about two hours. I needed all vehicles to be out of the area within the next half hour to make room for 2,500 runners. He didn’t realize it was race weekend and that’s when alarm bells went off in my head.

I asked if we helped him with loading, would he consider leaving earlier. He laughed and agreed but didn’t realize that I was being totally serious. I quickly found my industrious volunteer captain, Nick. Luckily for me, he accepted the challenge and his amazing team was actually excited about the idea of helping out with this unexpected problem.

Within minutes, Nick had twenty volunteers loading the lobster truck. This was no easy feat– each trap weighs over 100lbs. Thirty minutes later, the lobster truck was on its way. Disaster averted.

I’m continually amazed by the dedication and enthusiasm of the pirate crew. This is one of many stories that I have about volunteers going above and beyond. I couldn’t do it without them.