Details for Volunteers at the Expo, Including Friday Packet Pick-Up
The Expo will be held in Grand Hall 8, on the lower level of the Athens Classic Center (closer to Foundry Street than to Thomas Street).
Expo Setup Volunteers (Friday, January 23, 2:00 - 3:30 PM)
Volunteers helping with Expo Setup will meet in Grand Hall 8 at 2:00 PM. Check in with Catherine Shinholser when you arrive. She will provide specific instructions on tasks such as setting up tables, arranging booths, placing signage, and organizing materials for the event.
Be prepared to work efficiently, follow directions, and ask questions if you’re unsure about anything. This is a hands-on role, so be ready to move equipment and help create an organized, welcoming space for the marathon expo. Your help is crucial in making sure everything is set up smoothly and on time. Thank you for being a valuable part of the team!
General Information Volunteers at the Expo (Friday, January 23, 3:45 - 7:00 PM)
As a General Information Volunteer at the marathon expo, you will assist runners and visitors by providing information about the Expo and about the races. Check in with Catherine when you arrive, and she will give you specific instructions about where to stand and how to help.
Your job will be to greet all attendees with a smile and offer assistance proactively to everyone. Point out the packet pick-up tables as they come in, and encourage them to visit all the other highlights of the Expo.
Visitors will ask you about the race and about Athens. Answer questions confidently if you know the answer. If you do not know, offer to help them find out. Look it up with them, or direct them to a race official or to Dustin Shinholser for clarification. You can also send visitors with questions about Athens to the Athens Welcome Wagon.
Things to Know, for General Information Volunteers at the Expo
Arrive early and look around the Expo.
Know the locations of key areas within the Expo such as packet pickup, gear check, restrooms, and the course map display.
Course Details
Be able to explain where the starting line is (out front), where the finish line is (out back), and how runners will come into this same area (Grand Hall 8) after the race (through those doors over there).
Be able to point out major landmarks on the course map.
Race Day Parking
Be aware of nearby parking options and their entrances. Encourage runners to use UGA lots, especially the North Campus Parking Deck, on race day.
It’s all in the Guide Books and on the race website.
Almost everything that runners will ask you about is explained in the detailed Guides for runners and on the race website. Use your phone to look it up with them.
Weather
People will ask you about the weather. Stay updated on the forecast so you can inform runners to dress appropriately for race day. Remind them that Gear Check is available (if they want to leave themselves warm clothing for after the race), and remind them that any clothing dropped on the course will be collected and donated to local charities (if they want to start with an extra shirt and drop it after they warm up).
Packet Pick-Up at the Expo (3:45 - 7:00 PM)
As a Packet Pickup volunteer, you have one of the most enjoyable roles! The runners will be full of excitement and anticipation, and you’ll have the unique opportunity to welcome them and give them information and materials they must have for the race.
When you arrive at the beginning of your shift, you may be asked to help organize the large piles of T-shirts and bibs. Race officials and employees of the timing services company will help you.
Packet Pick-Up volunteers tend to organize themselves into two groups: those who use the computers to check in runners, and those who find the correct size T-shirts for runners.
If you are checking in runners, you will use an app called Race Day Check-In on an iPad or similar device provided to you. When you arrive for your volunteer shift, a registration manager will give you quick and simple instructions on how to use the app to assign bib numbers to runners.
The basic process for Packet Pick-Up will be as follows.
Ask for the runner’s name. If they brought their QR code from the confirmation email, you will take a picture of this code and/or scan it using a supplied bar code scanner to pull up the runner’s information.
Verify with the runner their name, age, gender, shirt size, and which race they are running (marathon or half marathon).
A few runners will ask to move from the marathon to the half marathon. This change is allowed. Registration officials can help you.
Verify if they do or do not receive a medal. (They made this choice when they registered.) If they do not receive a medal, you will put a mark on the bib to indicate this option.
This information screen will also show which corral the runner has been assigned to. Pick up the next available bib for that corral in the correct race.
Check in the runner on the app by first pressing the green “Check In” button. On the next screen, you will be directed to type in the number of the bib you have selected for this runner. Once you have it typed in press “Assign”. The final screen is a summary screen. It goes over the runner’s information which now includes their bib number. If everything looks right, click “Complete Check In”. Your device will automatically take you back to the list of runners.
Ask the volunteer behind you for a shirt in the indicated size.
Give the runner their bib and their shirt in one of the drawstring bags. Tell them to take 4 safety pins if they need them, and tell them to use this bag if they are doing gear check in the morning.
Be ready for some first time racers! If the runner does not understand what the bib is for or why safety pins would be necessary, take the time to explain it to them, and welcome them to their first race of many.
Thank the runner for participating in the Classic City Marathon, tell them to enjoy the Expo, and tell them to have a great race tomorrow!
If they have questions that you cannot answer, there will be an Information Table they can visit.
If a runner wants to collect for their friend or family member, they will need to show you the other runner’s QR Code or copy of their driver’s license. Once they show the code or license, follow the above process, BUT on the back of the bib, you MUST WRITE the individual’s FULL NAME AND SHIRT SIZE. We do not want runners picking up multiple bibs and becoming mixed up on which bib belongs to whom. This can lead to incorrect times and awards.
The process for checking in Relay Teams has a few extra complexities.
Packet Pick-Up for Relay Teams will be at a separate table from the Packet Pick-Up for individual runners. If you are volunteering for Relay Teams, someone at the Expo will explain this information and some other details for you.
One member of each Relay Team will check in for the whole team. As a Relay Check-In volunteer, you will give each person who checks in for a relay team all of their Individual Bibs, a special Relay Team Bib, a Relay Team Belt, and all the T-shirts for the whole team.
Explain to the representative of the relay team that each relay team member has an unchipped bib with their individual name on it. Explain that they must each wear their individual bib all morning. These bibs do not have timing chips, but they are important for identifying the runners during the race, especially in an emergency situation.
Each relay team will receive one special team number bib, with a timing chip, for the whole team.
Each relay team will receive one relay team belt.
Show the runners how to attach the chipped team number bib to their relay team belt. Explain that the relay belt with its attached team number bib must travel the entire course! This team-bib-on-relay-belt combination is the only way the team’s progress, distance, and time will be measured during the race. Make sure the team’s first runner will start with both their individual name bib and also the team belt, with the team bib attached, for race day.