Rev3 Wisconsin Volunteer Report

Writing my last post about whether to race at Cedar Point or not reminded me that I still hadn't written my Rev3 Dells volunteer report!

Because I'm a bad blogger and took very few pictures, I'm using one of Rev3's :) (Photo from Rev3 website)

Saturday:
We arrived in Wisconsin Dells on Saturday afternoon, shortly before my first volunteer shift was scheduled to start.  We popped into the resort to check-in even though we couldn't get in the room yet.  (Everything was under my name, credit card, etc...)

View of our resort from the lake.  Don't my in-laws look happy to be there? ;)

That afternoon I was signed up to volunteer at packet pickup.  I had the second shift that day which was also the last opportunity for athletes to get their packets.  I was quickly trained and set up with a box of packets.  I was surprised that there was never really a huge line.  Athletes must have planned ahead with most of them checking in earlier because we never had a back-up of more than a couple people.  All the athletes were super-nice and very understanding if I had to direct one of their questions to someone else.  I even got to help check in a few of the pros- including Richie Cunningham! 

After my shift was over at 6pm, I was anxious to get back to our condo and get something for supper.  I was starving!

Part of the reason we got a condo was because my mother-in-law and I both have dietary restrictions.  Having the condo allowed us to be able to eat all together while meeting everyone's preferences and restrictions.  We had a great meal that first night of grilled salmon accompanied by veggies I had picked from the garden the day before - carrots, onions, zucchini, eggplant, and fresh salsa!

Sunday:
I woke up early enough Sunday morning to make some coffee and watch the swim start.  I had planned to go down to the actual start, but the road I tried to take didn't go through because of a private beach.  But I discovered that the swim went right past our resort's dock!

Sunday morning was perfect.  Overcast with a calm lake. 

This provided the perfect view and a nice non-crowded place to enjoy my coffee!  There were several others watching from the resort's patio or from their windows.  It was a great place to spectate from. 

Pro men swimming just in front of me. 

I watched the two waves of pros and all of the half competitors start.  I went back up to our room to get more coffee and continued to watch the Oly swimmers from our patio.

After the swim was over, I got ready to do my own run and headed out the door.  I found a road away from the triathlon course, without too much traffic, and put in my scheduled 8 miles. 

After my run I had some lunch, played with my family at the waterpark for a half hour, then headed over to the finish for my second volunteer shift of the weekend.

This time I was at the finish line.  I worked with the same Rev3 staff member that I had the day before, Kelly, so I was immediately comfortable in my new position, handing out medals.

It's interesting to see people's reactions upon finishing from that perspective.  Some of them are elated, some exhausted.  Only one was grumpy.  One of the awesome things about Rev3 races are that they let your family/support crew cross the finish line with you.  It was fun, and sometimes emotional, to see little kids crossing with their Mom, Dad, or in one case, I'm pretty sure it was Grandma!

Here's the official Age Group Recap Video.  The back of my head makes a cameo at about 9:13.  Don't blink or you'll miss it!



I had an awesome time volunteering at Rev3 Wisconsin! The staff and other volunteers were wonderful. Rev3 really puts on a great race! I wish I would have been racing, but really, if you can't race, volunteering is the next best way to get in on the action!