Volunteer Communication 3

Date: 8/23/13
Subject: Superior Fall Trail Race 2013 Mark and Sweep Volunteers [1]

Hi All,

I am super excited that our marking and sweeping coordinator Matt Long has once again put together such a great Marking and Sweeping crew for this years race!  You should have received my general email to all volunteers already, but if not, it can be found HERE http://fall.superiortrailrace.com/volunteer-communication-2-2013/

Here is a pic of last years team, many of you were there!

Matt may be in touch with you regarding some specifics for marking and sweeping but I just wanted to drop a line in advance to say thank you to all of you for your help.  Many of you are return marking and / or sweeping volunteers and those that are not will get paired up with people who have experience.

For marking we will meet at 6:30 AM at Caribou Highlands unit #540 http://fall.superiortrailrace.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Caribou_Highlands_Superior_Finish_Diagram.pdf – you are welcome and encouraged to come on Wednesday afternoon / evening and stay – as always make sure you have a sleeping bag / pad and pillow in case all of the beds are taken.  Make sure that you have something to carry water in, preferably a pack of some kind since you will be carrying flags.  Bring the normal nutrition items you would bring when doing a run and we will also provide some sandwiches, chips and a cookie for you to bring out on the trail (kindly donated by the Delta Diner in Delta WI).  We will have a quick briefing before we leave regarding marking protocol, do’s and don’ts etc.  I have also attached a .PDF should anyone like to look it over explaining the fundementals of our (Don Clark’s) marking system.

For sweeping, your assignments have been made by Matt as well and he will be coordinating and explaining how that whole process will work and I won’t claim to know the specifics – it’s over my head!.  As always the function of the sweep is three-fold, pick up our flagging material and signage, picking up any garbage dropped by runners and most importantly, look for any runners who may be in trouble on the trail.  Matt Long will personally handle the enforcement of any cutoffs.  We will plan to send a first aid kit with the sweeps as well as a SAT phone to call net-control in the event of a life-threatening emergency or a needed evac.  We are super excited that Joy Parker has joined our medical team and will be providing medical support near the back of the race this year and you on the seeping team will probably see a fair amount of her, so if you bring in a runner that is bumped or bruised, having an allergic reaction from a bee-sting or worse, Joy can help (or can be dispatched by the HAMS to help), she will also be carrying an AED and a EpiPen.  Joy will be off duty for awhile late Friday night but will be available the majority of the time.  As always emergencies and communications should be routed through the HAM Radio Operators – we will also have a doctor (Adam Swank) at the finish line.

Finally, I have attached the marking and sweeping assignments that Matt put together (they are on the website as well) but these versions have everyone’s contact info, which is mostly going to be important for Matt and the crew to coordinate during the sweep (omitted for web version of this email).

Matt will expand on this where needed and can answer questions etc.  If you have any questions for me, please do not hesitate to ask.  Looking forward to another great year on the SHT!  You guys are awesome and I feel blessed to get to work with you on this grand endeavour!