"Aid Station 102 : Advanced Topics"

What’s wrong with this picture?? Answers in article.??

{Edit based on feedback: the scope of this article is for general aid station management, uses a single-sided aid station on a two-way path as an example. A discussion on two-sided aid stations could likely deserve at least half a dozen examples and is a worthy follow-up}

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Does this really matter?

First of all, take this all with a grain of salt if you're putting on a small race. These are more advanced and fine-tuned topics that bleed into general course management, and that can mitigate issues that come up the larger your race, and the busier the park or trail you're on is.

Second, I write this having in the last few years managed, amongst many things?

• Dozens of Ironman run course water stops
• The largest “post-race aid station” in the country (the amenities of the NYC Marathon twice, and also the Half),?
• Dozens of race courses on the 500-3,000 size?
• And I like to mention years ago at another race with 10’s of thousands of participants, moved a few trash cans and signs a few feet, clearing up a traffic jam into a smooth-flowing post race.?????

So while I know that an aid station plan can violate almost every one of the things I’m going to say at a smaller size and work well enough - well, if you’re reading this, you’re enough of a nerd to get how it can always be better and can save the day as your race grows. ? As my book Getting On Path says, you may get it done, but you also may spend twice as much, work twice as hard, or do half as good of a job.??

This article assumes you received a passing grade in your Aid Station 101 class, and so understand the basics of:

• Water station ingredients (water, tables, tents, trash cans, cups, coolers - and at longer races, bathrooms, electrolyte drink, gels, etc)
• Where to place water stops on course and approximately how far apart they go
• Basic terminology like ‘passings’, ‘sides’, ‘marshals’, ‘lead’, ‘tail’, etc. ? I use the term ‘water stop’ and ‘aid station’ as interchangeably and confusingly here as I do in real life.??

It also assumes you are not a trail/ultra RD, in which case you know that the perfect aid station only needs pickle juice, a roller, a camping chair, and a big friendly dog named, I don’t know... Bowwalter.?

Lastly, If you are looking for more complicated topics, wait for Water Stops 201, or if you understand more complicated topics for larger races, I’d like to invite you to be the guest lecturer for Water Stops 202.??

The Role of Water Stop Captains

Giving out water, right?? Wrong.? Ish.??

Water stop captains are the Wild West Sheriffs of the race course.? All alone in far flung parts, tasked with keeping order and sanity as a storm of unruly travelers come through town, thirsty and hungry, sometimes inclined to make a mess, and dealing with the occasional bandit.? ? Cheering on runners who are doing great, and supporting runners who are doing ‘not-so-great’.?

On their own, your sheriffs and their deputies can be caught in a scramble of loose trash and constant cup refilling, unable to find the time to communicate with the outside world.??

As part of a team, they can run a smooth operation, act as your eyes and ears on course, make a few runners' day, and if all is well, return next year.??

And yes, they may give out some water.?

Preparation?

Planning?

• I like to assign key locations “CM” (Course Marshal) #’s for both turns and aid stations - a handy reference for all to use and even keep on their phones.? How many times have I seen a nurse at an aid station chase down an injured or sick runner and not know how to explain where they are?? Too many.
• Empower your deputies. ? Along with mile markers, you can go a long way to providing handy references for where the action is on your course. ? I have told the story too many times of how my first event mentor died of a heart attack at a 10K in part because it was on winding suburban streets and the ambulance could not figure out how to locate and get to him fast enough.??
• Make sure that all your course staff, medical staff, etc have a map of these AS and CM locations and their approximate mile markers.?
• Make an equipment manifest for your water stops - make sure the captains double check something’s not missing before they need it.?

Communications

• Work with your captains, especially on hot or cold days to manage what gets set up.? Give them approximate times? for : lead runner, tail runner,? "First 25%, last 25%" (or similar %'s for setup purposes.
• Especially on long days - work with them? to determine what to put out (or not put out early).? No sense in wasting ice and getting things warm!? Shade and heat can be your friends. Do not be fully set until that "25%" point.? Give them a sense of how many items they should have out in the first X time so they don’t feel rushed.??
• Work with them to make a plan to start casually breaking down and consolidating - at the last 25% or so until the end of the race, give them an idea how many are left on course so they know how much to leave out.? Help them get out of there as quickly as possible without leaving a runner hanging.??
• Make sure they know what they can take home with them! I’ve yet to see a volunteer with ample advance knowledge find a home for leftovers.??
• Set up a group text (better yet, WhatsApp group) with your aid station captains on race week.? Motivate them! Have the new ones ask questions that the old ones may know the answer to. ? Ask them to be your eyes and ears, and to:
• Check in when arriving!
• Send any requests prefaced with their # - AS2 or 2, for example!? In the rush a nearby aid station may be able to step in and send supplies, bodies, help, etc.
• Make sure everyone is aware of any transfer plans, i.e. Aid 1 can take their materials to Aid 5 after breaking down.??
• Especially on counter flow courses and double-side stations, make sure they know where the runners are coming from first !? I have seen many a wrong side set up first and many a well-meaning child do wonderful chalk messages upside down….?
• Next level: Consider adding special items like? cup stackers, ‘last trash can’ signs, rakes, etc.???
• Prepare your captain for any contingencies: with great power comes great responsibility, including how to deal with:
• Medical issues, emergency and non
• Lost runners
• ‘Things that seem weird’?
• Helping you clean up while you have a captive army of volunteers

Race Day

Setting Up?

• On busier races, for every 2 tables, consider a backstock table, bar style. Play to the number of volunteers so that everyone feels occupied, even if they are not handing out cups. Extra kids are great for running around picking up cups while adults manage.
• Leave a gap of tables, perhaps 6-10 feet so a runner can pass if the one in front of them slows down.? 15-20 feet on a downhill is even better.??

• Remember fast runners pass on the outside and may bypass your station!? Leave space for them in everything. Think about tangents and the path runners will take. Think about what they'll see or not when objects are in their way.
• No obstructions (tent legs, cones, etc) in the runners’ path!? Unless you are desperate for shade at a sharp sun angle and then I have broken this rule myself.

Filling Up

• Consider your cup size and fill them ?.? 6-10oz is generally good.? A 16 oz bottle and you will be picking up bottles until the next aid station.??
• Pack cups tight on the back of the table, and loose up front - especially if runners are grabbing on your own.? Cups can slide forward while runners (or volunteers handing out) grab them, and this allows volunteers to face the runners while doing this.??

Trash Management

• Consider your trash can spacing based on the cup size - smaller cups will empty faster and be tossed sooner than lower ones. ?
• Use trash cans to guide runners the way you want them to go. On a curve, always have the first and one more trash can on the tangent.? (First rule of wayfinding also applies here - guide the runners eyes the shortest path you and they want to take).
• Alternate trash location left and right, better yet, middle of the runners when space allows.??
• Trash cans: Bag in the bottom, bag on the lip, bag on top.? Pre-open them if you’re motivated.
• Rakes, brooms and dustpans keep things pretty, or if you’re feeling Amazon-y, poop scoopers and trash grabbers.??
• The magic rule of race trash applies:? if there is one piece of trash somewhere it shouldn’t be, you’re fine.? If there are two, there will soon be 20.? Contain trash to a manageable area around the aid station through effective can placement, signage, and picking up trash during lulls (see "last 25%", below.?
• If all trash management fails, consider a shop broom to quickly brush cups and gel packs out of the runners’ paths before they get squished and bake into the ground.?

Portajohns

• Bathroom doors do NOT face the path of the runner as the doors open - face inwards or opposite
• I believe in putting bathrooms after the aid station when able, especially if handling food - BUT if handling garbage, leave cans nearby or you will have a hidden surprise mess for your or the bathroom staff to clean up afterwards.??There are many exceptions for this, including available space, delivery, level ground, and if there’s a realllly long gap since the last one…? often times on tight courses I am tempted to just put restrooms directly behind the aid stations to get them out of the way.??
• Make sure to check and stack extra toilet paper for longer races!? Runners are often not judicious in their square conservation or dexterity. ? Consider handwash stations or even just a table with hand sanitizer.?

In Action

• Communicate delays, especially significant ones.? Aid captains may get bored, but even more so volunteers may have somewhere to be after the race.??
• I like to drive ‘well in advance loops’ of 45, 15 minutes etc to check on aid captains and also get them pumped.??
• As things slow down, try to take a few minutes to thank the volunteers and ask how things went!

Summing it Up

So what was wrong??

Much Better:?

Join us next time in Water Stops 201? - “2” for “2-sided”, “2-hit”, and “2-busy” .??