by Tom Farmer, Striders Volunteer Coordinator

Bright and early on  Sunday, July 28, the text cried out, "Is Tom awake?" Up and down the Kennebec River valley the response echoed, "Technically, yes." Despite promising to be there at 7 a.m., he rocked up at a very casual 7:20 a.m. in the true spirit of being cool.

Yes, folks, it was Ironman 70.3 Maine  race day in Augusta and the Central Maine Striders were out in force, both as participants and as volunteers. Fearless leader Martha, along with Butch, Sapan, Audrey, Lexi, Amy and Alison, Charlie and Cindy, and Koren and Ryleigh joined Tom at Run Aid Station #4 on the Kennebec River Rail Trail to distribute water in true expert fashion. Assuredly, dehydration rued the day it met these 12 Striders. With great vengeance we smote its ruin upon the riverside.

The impact of Tom's tardiness was mitigated by a strategic choice of location. For the second year in a row, the Striders staffed Ironman Maine's Run Aid Station #4 with staff and youth from the Augusta Teen Center, a branch of the Boys & Girls Club. Director Lizzy McCausland rules with an iron fist, and all cower before her and do her bidding. Mild joking aside, the teen center staff are great and they brought a great group of kids. This afforded us the luxury of standing back as the strength of youth handled all the major setup activities and heavy lifting. They were also kind enough to share their snacks and sandwiches with us. Much love to the Augusta Teen Center.

With all the menial tasks handled, the Striders were free to focus on efficiently staffing the ever popular water stations. With one group at the north end of the station and a second at the south end, the Striders had it covered both coming and going. One noteworthy aspect of this activity was the welcome presence of one Dr. Sapan Bhatt, DMD.

It is necessary for me to paraphrase, but the essence of Sapan's comments throughout the day followed a general theme. When asked what it was like on the other side of the hydration station table, Sapan looked philosophically to the heavens before responding. I remember him saying something along the lines of how he now finally realized who the true athletes were. At least, that's how I remember it. I might be wrong. I do distinctly remember him saying that the act of handing out  water has given him a better appreciation of how to effectively grab water during a race. So we're expecting a minimum minus 10-minute improvement on all marathon times going forward.

Potentially flawed memory aside, we were lucky to have Sapan and the entire crew. This year's Ironman Maine 70.3 was completely sold out. 2,600 athletes swam with the Kennebec River sturgeon, biked along greater Augusta's highways and byways, and ran up and down the rail trail. From a volunteer perspective that translates to two hours of minor boredom, then three hours of absolute insanity, followed by three hours of relative boredom as you wait for the sweepers. But no matter what, the order of the day is positivity, applause, and cheers for the folks who have made the commitment to go for it.

During some of those slow periods we were able to converse as people do in such situations. From Audrey we learned that we were enjoying the shade of Rhus typhina, the staghorn sumac. Very different from the poison sumac, just to be clear. This is important seeing as Audrey informed us the velvety flower is a good source of vitamin C and, when soaked, strained, and sweetened can be used to make sumac-ade. Look for my sumac-ade empire to destroy the children's corner lemonade stand racket in the near future.

While the volunteers were of course the stars of the show, we must still acknowledge the actual race participation of a few Striders. It's hard to recognize people when you're heads-down for three hours desperately trying to pour water as fast as you can. But we recognized Ashley Audet and Luigi Santilli, with apologies to any other Striders we missed. Clearly the hydration efforts of the volunteers were key to Ashley's and Luigi's success.

Assuredly it must have been an eternity for the athletes, but for the volunteers it was seven hours of hard work and sunburn. Come to think of it, that might apply to athletes and volunteers alike, albeit in different respects. Regardless, after seven hours of hard work and sunburn we were done with another year of Ironman.

There is little doubt regarding the positive impact this event has to the area communities. For the Striders, our volunteer participation grants us a community volunteer contribution from the Ironman Foundation. These grant funds allow us to continue the excellent work we do locally to support and advocate for the joy and benefits of running. As such, we appreciate all of our volunteers and their efforts.

Odds are that this very successful event will return to central Maine in 2027 and will likely be a regular fixture for the foreseeable future. So when we put the call out next year for volunteers, be sure to join the fun. You get a high-visibility neon T-shirt, free snacks, sore calves, and possible sunburn. Normally you have to pay an entry fee for that, but for Ironman 70.3 Maine it's the Striders that get paid.

Author Tom Farmer serves as the club's Volunteer Coordinator. If you'd like to get involved in volunteering at future club events, send him an email (tfarmer001@gmail.com) or text (502-767-4422) and get added to his (no obligation) volunteer email list. Thanks, Tom and the Striders crew!