May 25, 2015

Wins for Warriors Detroit 9K (volunteer) race report

I hope everyone has had a fantastic weekend! I am going to postpone the Motivational Monday again, because today was the Wins for Warriors race in Detroit (and I still haven't figured out the stupid Photos app).

I woke up at 4:30 this morning to get ready and leave at 6:00. I was told to report to the volunteer tent behind Comerica Park at 7:00. I was nervous to drive there by myself, because I don't ever drive in downtown Detroit alone--it's unfamiliar to me, and I am notorious for getting lost in unfamiliar areas. Thankfully, Thomas taught me how to use Google Maps (which I'm still learning), and that gave me perfect directions! (I know, welcome to the 21st century, Katie...)

I went to the volunteer tent, where I was told I would be on the Riverwalk at mile 3.5 for a water station. I love the Detroit riverwalk, and was really excited when I learned that's where I would be. The problem is, it was nearly two miles away from Comerica, so it would be a long walk to get there. There was plenty of time to spare, though.

I had won a Tigers sweatshirt in a sweepstakes, so I picked up that (it's awesome!) and brought it back to my car, and then I started walking to my water station (following the directions on Google Maps). It was kind of eerie walking through the city when it was so quiet--there weren't any people or cars around at that time of morning.




Once I got to the water station, there was a lot of waiting around for the supplies to be delivered. It was such a pretty view, though!


The riverwalk has a really cool photo gallery on the sidewalk. There are photos of different areas of Michigan that all sorts of people took and submitted.






Once the supplies arrived, we set up cones to mark the course, and filled a ton of cups with water.


One of the volunteers had this, so I finally got my selfie with Justin Verlander ;)

The first runner came through, and it was a while before the second runner came through (this was a small race, about 300 people). After he went through, a minute or two later, we heard him yell, "Which way?" because he had made a wrong turn. I decided to go down to where it was a little confusing and direct runners instead of handing out water, because I didn't want anyone else to make that wrong turn.

It was fun standing there, because I got to watch all the runners go by, and cheer for people, and take some pictures. There were a couple of readers who recognized me, which is so fun. Nathan stopped and chatted with me for a few minutes before moving on (he was running it as a "fun run" rather than aiming for a certain goal). I saw Kendall (Nathan's girlfriend), who was running her farthest distance to date. There were a lot of walkers, which surprised me--if I had known there would be so many people walking, I would have opted to do that! But it ended up working out for the best that I volunteered instead...

We were told that there was one more person on the course, who was walking with the sweeper (a "sweeper" is a volunteer that "sweeps" the course by keeping every other runner in front of him/her; they stay at the very back of the pack to make sure that nobody gets left on the course). We cheered and gave them water when they came through. The person walking with the sweeper was a 15-year old boy named Daron. (Edit: I spelled his name wrong yesterday when I posted this--I just corrected it. Sorry, Daron!)

After Daron and the sweeper, Beth, passed through the water station, we started moving the table and supplies to the car of one of the volunteers. It had just started raining a little, so I decided to get a ride back instead of walk. As we were walking to the car, however, something told me that I should go back and walk the rest of the race with Daron and Beth.

I walked as fast as I could to catch up, and I asked if I could join them. They said sure, and we started chatting. I learned that Beth is quite the runner--she's done several 100-milers! She's also an Ironman (and a speedy one at that). Daron said his boss convinced him to sign up for the race, but he didn't know how far 9K was when he signed up. This was his very first race, and it was 5.6 miles!

It was tough for him, so I encouraged him the best that I could. He still had two miles to go, and at that point, it was already the farthest he'd ever walked before. It was interesting to be at the very back of the pack. I've been *near* the back before, but never last... and today, I got to experience that. We had a police escort the whole way (the Detroit police were AWESOME--they were really encouraging to Daron and never pushed us to go faster or showed impatience at all). The volunteers were still on the course, and they were fantastic as well--it was really heartwarming to see them root for Daron to finish.

Daron did awesome--he never complained, even though the race was really difficult for him, and he stayed in good spirits the whole time. When we finally saw Comerica Park, and the finish line, it was a relief for him! Right as we were walking past the stadium exit, a bunch of Team RWB members were walking out, and they spotted us walking toward the finish line. They started cheering really loudly for Daron, which was so cool!

I told Daron I was going to go ahead to the finish line so I could get a picture of him as he crossed. Beth continued to walk with him, and I went just past the finish line. Daron started running toward the very end, and he proudly crossed the finish line with several volunteers there cheering. Being as emotional as I am, I naturally got all choked up watching him finish. I know what a HUGE feat this race was for him!


We went inside the stadium for a lap of the ball field, and so Daron could receive his medal. There were several volunteers still there, too, and they cheered loudly for him. We took some photos (we got to go in the dugouts!) and then headed out. I thanked the race coordinators (I had met them at the game on Saturday), and got Daron's phone number so that I could text him the pictures I'd taken. Then I headed home.

With his boss
I felt SO GOOD after the race, and I didn't even run :) I think most things happen for a reason, and my volunteering today was one of those things. I got to witness an incredibly inspirational teen complete his first race--how awesome is that?!

I told Daron I would send him the link to this blog post, so feel free to leave him a congratulatory comment if you'd like :)

56 comments:

  1. Congrats, Darren! You did a great job and had a positive attitude. Thats commendable!

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  2. Congratulations Darren!

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  3. Wow, Darren! You did it! What an awesome accomplishment, and we are so proud of you. I hope this is the first of many races in your future! You rock!

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  4. AnonymousMay 25, 2015

    Way to go Darren!!!

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  5. AnonymousMay 25, 2015

    Great Job Darren!!!

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  6. Darren, I am very proud of you! I have two sons from Detroit and one of them joins me for my runs and we do 5k races together. I am very proud of your determination and great attitude! We'd love to keep cheering you on, Darren!

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  7. Awesome accomplishment Darren! I hope you don't mind if I share your story with my 14yo son, as you are such an inspiration!

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  8. Darren you did a fantastic job!!! Don't let this be your last race!!!!!

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  9. Katie; this made me cry; but in a good way. You have such a kind heart.
    I'm sure your actions made a big impact on Darren; WAY TO GO!

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  10. StephanieMay 25, 2015

    Congratulations Darren, you are quite an inspiration for me. I am too scared to even walk a 5k. Way to go!!

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  11. Way to go Darren! Keep up the good work and hopefully we will hear about the next event you are going to do!

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  12. Congratulations Darren! That is a huge accomplishment.

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  13. Way to go Darren! Congrats on finishing your first race! Be proud of yourself man! You did great!

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  14. AnonymousMay 25, 2015

    Such a great story. Darren, you CAN do hard things. Keep up the good work!

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  15. GREAT JOB DARREN!!!!!!

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  16. Way to go, Darren! You rock!

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  17. Great job, Darren! That was a brave thing you did -- and you finished it! :) Hope there are more races in your future!

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  18. Congratulations, Darren! You are an inspiration!

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  19. Beyond amazing Darren! Way to knock it out!

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  20. GO DARREN! What a fun day for everyone involved. :)

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  21. Congratulations, Darren!!!!! Great job and awesome finish!!!! Continue on your path and sounds like you have a great boss!!!!

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  22. AnonymousMay 26, 2015

    Amazing! He should be so proud!

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  23. Way to go, Darren! You rocked it!

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  24. Great job, Darren! Careful, racing is addictive!! ;)

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  25. AnonymousMay 26, 2015

    Way to go Darren!! You are a rock star!!!!!

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  26. Amanda K.May 26, 2015

    Awesome job Darren! Sounds like a great first race to participate in! So inspiring! And awesome job at volunteering Katie! It looks like it was a great day all around!

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  27. Fantastic job Darren! Keep up the good work. If you do more races, please let Katie know so she can tell us!

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  28. AnonymousMay 26, 2015

    Darren- you accomplished something many of us only dream of doing! Good for you for getting started on your fitness quest today, instead of later. And, what an encouragement you are Katie! Well done, both of you!

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  29. AnonymousMay 26, 2015

    I got choked up just reading that! Way to go Darren, you should be very proud of yoursefl!

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  30. Wow, 5.6 miles for your first race is amazing Darren! And you ran through the finish line. You are awesome! I can't wait to hear about your next race!

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  31. Congratulations, Darren! What an accomplishment! You should be very proud of yourself!

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  32. AnonymousMay 26, 2015

    Darren... AMAZING!!!!! Congratulations!! That was NOT easy... But you did it!!!! You are such an inspiration!! Keep up the awesome work. Looking forward to hearing about your next race... ����

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  33. Way to go, Darren! You looked so strong at the finish. I know from personal experience that setting a goal and doing something outside of your comfort zone can be hard but you DID IT! I hope you are proud of yourself because you should be!

    (And Katie - good for you for volunteering - love your socks! :)

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  34. Sounds like it was a great day in many ways!!

    Congratulations, Darren! That is quite a feat for a first race! Your boss looks very proud of you :D Keep up the good work!

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  35. Katie..I,too get emotional and had tears reading this. The whole spirit of this race is wonderful. I have family in the military, past and present and am sensitive to PTSD. I'm sorry you're struggling with an injury but I loved hearing about your volunteer experience. It sounds like everyone had a wonderful day.
    Darren...way to go buddy! What a great accomplishment for you. I hope you are really proud of yourself for finishing even tho I'm sure it was really hard...so great :)

    Bridgette


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  36. Yay, Darren! You are awesome! You should be proud of yourself for finishing the race. That is such an inspiration!

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  37. Go Darren!! You should be so proud of yourself--I am!! :)

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  38. Congrats to Darren and all the other Runs for Cookies readers for completing the race! Way to go- very impressive!!

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  39. AnonymousMay 26, 2015

    Congratulations, Darren! What a huge achievement! Your first 9k is under your belt and I hope it's the first of many more races for you!

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  40. Congratulations on finishing your first race, Darren! Glad you had a great day Katie!

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  41. AnonymousMay 26, 2015

    Darren, that's awesome!! You are an inspiration to many...including me!! Thank you!! :)

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  42. AnonymousMay 26, 2015

    Way to go Darren! You should be proud of your first race and that you finished :)

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  43. AnonymousMay 26, 2015

    Go Daron! We are all proud of you! Keep up the good work :D

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  44. Daron - you are INCREDIBLE! You picked quite a distance for your first race, but you finished! I am so proud of you and I hope you keep going. It will only get easier. Way to go!

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  45. As an overweight person, how did you start running? I feel so terrified of damaging my body because of the stress of both the running and the weight! Do you have a post on that?

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    1. AnonymousMay 27, 2015

      Katie talks about her running beginning about halfway down this page:

      http://www.runsforcookies.com/p/running.html

      My experience starting out is to start slowly (walk / run) and to get proper shoes and clothes. If you wear cotton loose clothes you can chafe and the, well, bouncing can be painful. I'd go to a store like Target or Walmart to get compression clothes.

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  46. AnonymousMay 27, 2015

    Whoa...this is definitely worthy of Motivational Monday. WTG Daron!

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  47. AnonymousMay 27, 2015

    Daron, way to cross the finish line STRONG! If this isn't a MotiMonday, I don't know what is!

    Katie, thanks for such a great race report and for finishing with Daron and telling us his story!

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  48. Way to go Daron!!! Thank you for being an inspiration!

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  49. AnonymousMay 27, 2015

    Great blog post! Daron, you have inspired me. Thank you for allowing Katie to share your motivational story with us. So proud of you!!

    Katie, I just begun my weightloss journey in January and I look forward to reading your blog every evening. It's refreshing to read a blog as honest, heartfelt and unguarded as the ones you post. Thank you for being you ��

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  50. Awesome job Daron! I am extremely impressed! I wish I had started racing and on this path when I was your age! I hope you enjoyed it and find more fun things to do!

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  51. Great post, great pics. I ran the race and loved it. Thanks for volunteering! :) http://veganroadrunner.blogspot.com/2015/05/on-run-wins-for-warriors-9k-2015.html

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  52. I no its kind of late but I was looking threw my phone and seen all of comments thanks all of u

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  53. I'm daron

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I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

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