Boston, Boston, Boston!
Jul. 19th, 2011 05:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jayfurrHighs of 97, 94, and 80. Lows of 78 and 66. Sunny. No rain.
Yes, that's the forecast for this weekend for the vicinity of Boston, Massachusetts. Or, more specifically, that's the forecast for the 2011 Boston Susan G. Komen 3-Day For The Cure. Hot, sunny, but thank God, no rain in the forecast at this time. (In each of the two previous years where Carole and I have taken part in the Boston 3-Day, it's rained buckets at some point on Day 1.) We're going to have somewhere in the vicinity of 2,000 walkers walking around in that kind of heat, racking up 20 miles a day on average on asphalt, pavement, and concrete. All to raise funds for the fight against breast cancer. (If you're reading this and you actually have no idea whatsoever what the 3-Day For The Cure is, by the way, I summed it up here. While my tone may have been a bit frivolous, I like to think I captured the spirit of the event.)
Carole and I aren't walking in this event. We're crewing. While the walkers are doing the hard work, we'll be riding around in an air-conditioned 14-foot rental truck, going from pit stop to pit stop to pick up the garbage. It's not a particularly glamorous job, but one must remember, we're not the stars of the show and we're not crewing to earn some sort of reward. Rather, we know that when we walk in the 2011 San Francisco 3-Day in September, and when I walk with the members of Team Twitter ATL (17 walkers, 12 crew) in Atlanta in October, we're going to be relying on the crew there to keep us fed, watered, and taken care of... and we're trying to pay it forward by doing our share a little closer to home.
Each year it takes close to 400 crew to staff the Boston 3-Day. Crew do everything. They patrol the route on bicycles and motorcycles. They staff pit stops on the route and provide drinks and snacks and porto-jons. They get up at o'dark thirty and serve breakfast... and then do it all again in the evening. They hand out clean towels to walkers and crew at the showers. They provide first aid and medical care. They drive sweep vans along the route looking for walkers who are having a hard time continuing.
They, er, haul garbage. Both at camp (2,000 walkers and 400 crew produce a lot of trash) and along the route. Carole and I are the Route Clean-Up crew. The entire crew. Some crew teams are sizeable: Camp Services is 38 members strong, for example. We're the smallest: one team captain (me), and one crew member (Carole). We've got a 14-foot truck, a radio to stay in contact with event HQ, and a mandate to drive the route, stopping at each pit stop and grab 'n' go to haul away the empty gallon water jugs, empty boxes of snacks, and all the miscellaneous detritus that walkers cast off. We don't have to stop along the route to pick up a discarded feather boa from a bike rack in front of a Starbucks -- we're responsible specifically for the garbage at pit stops. If it falls on the ground 100 feet down the road, it's someone else's problem. :)
But along with all that, we've got the same responsibility all other crew have: to look out for the health and well-being of the walkers (and our fellow crew) and to serve as ambassadors in the eyes of the spectators and community, demonstrating proper 3-Day spirit. We'll work with smiles on our faces no matter how blisteringly hot it gets and we'll keep a careful eye out for walkers who look a little unsteady on their feet or betray other telltale signs of overheating and under-hydrating.
You know, we call this the 3-Day, but for the crew it's not a three-day event; it's a four-day event. We have to get down there on Thursday for final preparations and meetings... and while some of us are meeting, the Route Marking and Camp Logistics crews will already be installing directional signage along the Day 1 route between Framingham and Waltham and setting up the camp in Waltham. And we'll be going to bed really early on Thursday night because when the first walkers come toddling out of their hotels on Friday morning at 4 am to catch shuttles over to the opening ceremony site, cheerful happy smiling crew members will already be up and ready to greet them.
If you're in the Boston area and you'd like to come out and spectate, you can. Spectator information is available at the Boston 3-Day spectator page. There are 'cheering stations' each day at designated locations and I know the walkers would appreciate your coming out to support them and share your enthusiasm. And if you're not in the immediate area or can't make it out, you can follow us on Twitter at @jay3day. I won't be posting every observation and thought I have during the weekend to my main Twitter account (@jayfurr) because it could get kinda spammy at times, but feel free to keep an eye on @jay3day. You can also look out for the Twitter hashtag #the3day to see posts from others.
Before we know it, the weekend will be here ... and I think I can speak for both myself and Carole when I say we're looking forward to it. There's a certain giddy enthusiasm every year at the 3-Day and we're going to end the weekend anxious for it to be our turn to walk... but San Francisco and Atlanta will come around soon enough.
Yes, that's the forecast for this weekend for the vicinity of Boston, Massachusetts. Or, more specifically, that's the forecast for the 2011 Boston Susan G. Komen 3-Day For The Cure. Hot, sunny, but thank God, no rain in the forecast at this time. (In each of the two previous years where Carole and I have taken part in the Boston 3-Day, it's rained buckets at some point on Day 1.) We're going to have somewhere in the vicinity of 2,000 walkers walking around in that kind of heat, racking up 20 miles a day on average on asphalt, pavement, and concrete. All to raise funds for the fight against breast cancer. (If you're reading this and you actually have no idea whatsoever what the 3-Day For The Cure is, by the way, I summed it up here. While my tone may have been a bit frivolous, I like to think I captured the spirit of the event.)
Carole and I aren't walking in this event. We're crewing. While the walkers are doing the hard work, we'll be riding around in an air-conditioned 14-foot rental truck, going from pit stop to pit stop to pick up the garbage. It's not a particularly glamorous job, but one must remember, we're not the stars of the show and we're not crewing to earn some sort of reward. Rather, we know that when we walk in the 2011 San Francisco 3-Day in September, and when I walk with the members of Team Twitter ATL (17 walkers, 12 crew) in Atlanta in October, we're going to be relying on the crew there to keep us fed, watered, and taken care of... and we're trying to pay it forward by doing our share a little closer to home.
Each year it takes close to 400 crew to staff the Boston 3-Day. Crew do everything. They patrol the route on bicycles and motorcycles. They staff pit stops on the route and provide drinks and snacks and porto-jons. They get up at o'dark thirty and serve breakfast... and then do it all again in the evening. They hand out clean towels to walkers and crew at the showers. They provide first aid and medical care. They drive sweep vans along the route looking for walkers who are having a hard time continuing.
They, er, haul garbage. Both at camp (2,000 walkers and 400 crew produce a lot of trash) and along the route. Carole and I are the Route Clean-Up crew. The entire crew. Some crew teams are sizeable: Camp Services is 38 members strong, for example. We're the smallest: one team captain (me), and one crew member (Carole). We've got a 14-foot truck, a radio to stay in contact with event HQ, and a mandate to drive the route, stopping at each pit stop and grab 'n' go to haul away the empty gallon water jugs, empty boxes of snacks, and all the miscellaneous detritus that walkers cast off. We don't have to stop along the route to pick up a discarded feather boa from a bike rack in front of a Starbucks -- we're responsible specifically for the garbage at pit stops. If it falls on the ground 100 feet down the road, it's someone else's problem. :)
But along with all that, we've got the same responsibility all other crew have: to look out for the health and well-being of the walkers (and our fellow crew) and to serve as ambassadors in the eyes of the spectators and community, demonstrating proper 3-Day spirit. We'll work with smiles on our faces no matter how blisteringly hot it gets and we'll keep a careful eye out for walkers who look a little unsteady on their feet or betray other telltale signs of overheating and under-hydrating.
You know, we call this the 3-Day, but for the crew it's not a three-day event; it's a four-day event. We have to get down there on Thursday for final preparations and meetings... and while some of us are meeting, the Route Marking and Camp Logistics crews will already be installing directional signage along the Day 1 route between Framingham and Waltham and setting up the camp in Waltham. And we'll be going to bed really early on Thursday night because when the first walkers come toddling out of their hotels on Friday morning at 4 am to catch shuttles over to the opening ceremony site, cheerful happy smiling crew members will already be up and ready to greet them.
If you're in the Boston area and you'd like to come out and spectate, you can. Spectator information is available at the Boston 3-Day spectator page. There are 'cheering stations' each day at designated locations and I know the walkers would appreciate your coming out to support them and share your enthusiasm. And if you're not in the immediate area or can't make it out, you can follow us on Twitter at @jay3day. I won't be posting every observation and thought I have during the weekend to my main Twitter account (@jayfurr) because it could get kinda spammy at times, but feel free to keep an eye on @jay3day. You can also look out for the Twitter hashtag #the3day to see posts from others.
Before we know it, the weekend will be here ... and I think I can speak for both myself and Carole when I say we're looking forward to it. There's a certain giddy enthusiasm every year at the 3-Day and we're going to end the weekend anxious for it to be our turn to walk... but San Francisco and Atlanta will come around soon enough.
