Being a Brazen Volunteer is......

A pretty sweet gig!

We have volunteered w/Brazen on race day before and worked an aid station. That was great and we learned a lot about how organized things are, and about the logistics of race  morning.

Saturday we had the opportunity to volunteer the day before the race. Brazen and Save Mount Diablo team up to put on 2 Trail Challenge events each year out of Castle Rock Park. The same park I run out of 3 days a week, and is super close to home.  I sent Jasmin an email letting her know we were close and available to help out Saturday and she said come on down at 11:30.

After a morning of fulfilling a few other "responsibilities"...we all headed to the park to find Sam and Jasmin and kids, a couple of their family members, and 2 large trucks (think moving truck) to unload. Our kids had been told in advance that if they worked hard they would get free race entrees to a future race, so they did indeed work hard unloading things, moving things, setting up tables and tents....and the really great thing is that Sam and Jasmin let the kids work! They weren't "a bother", or "in the way" of the adults who could have carried all the cans of soup at once instead of 2 at a time, or all the bags of cups at once instead of one bag at a time....they were allowed to get in there and help.  Em at one point had an aid station list and was in the back of the truck reading off to an adult how many of which items they needed for the aid stations. Myles and Sophie helped me cover the tables with plastic for what would be the food area, carried chairs out to the tented, table areas that would be bib pick up and the shirt areas, unwrapping the finishers medals that each come in their own plastic bag...everyone was busy doing something.

After not too long, Jasmin walks up with a pad and pencil to take our lunch order...someone was making a Chipotle run.  No, no, no I said, but she insisted on buying our family lunch, and it was so good! The food came and we all sat down to a table and ate and visited...then went back to work. After a bit of working in the sunny area setting up the tables and tents and moving the shirt/hoodie/hat boxes out to those tables...Jasmin said something about us all working out in the sun and needing hats and insisted we all go through the hat/visor box and pick out whatever we wanted. Seriously....the kids were over the moon!  As much as I have always wanted a Brazen visor, and the kids always ask when we are at races...it's just one of those extra expenses that we say "no" to every time.

By 4 pm it was looking like a race start/finish area! Sam had loaded his car and headed out to deliver goods and signs to one of the aid stations. Brian and I hung up the Gu banners across the back of the tents, and that was about it! Oh, Jasmin made sure we all left with whatever size and fabric (cotton or tech) shirt we wanted. I was very happy for this as I registered late and was not guaranteed a shirt on race day.

If you are like me, you may be wondering about all that stuff sitting out there overnight. First let me say that all the perishable food stayed the night in the truck...and there was a ton of it! Saag puts on a huge bbq after this race, so all their coolers of sausages were in the truck too. But there is a ton of electrical equipment, bbqs, coffee pots, coolers...not to mention shirts, medals, tables, chairs, etc. setting out there.  Well, I found the answer to my question as I unloaded a box from the truck labeled "camping gear".  Yep, Sam and Jasmin camped out and slept there over night. 

We all worked, but it was a fun day, and not just because they spoiled us! We again learned a lot of what goes on in advance of an event this size. I learned Jasmin has a reason for why everything is where it is, whether that is a table, tent, roped off area...she has everything figured out in her head and knows just where everything needs to be to have things run smoothly...down to which way the food line will flow and how to keep people out of the food prep area. : ) I learned setting up the famous Brazen start/finish arch is harder than I thought, and that Sam will blow it up, and take it down if the banner that hangs from it isn't looking quite right, then blow it up again and make sure everything looks good, then deflate it and set it off to the side so it's ready to go the next morning. Who knew? We learned that Sam is running Northface for his 6th year in a row this year, and that Ernie N. (who we haven't seen in a while and  were worried about) is alive and well, just playing golf more, running a little less. We learned that the inventor of Gu is a regular at Brazen races. His son, the ceo of Gu, and his grandson are at every race, but you'd never know who they were. Gu is a sponsor of Brazen's races, and since the family is at all the races, Sam and Jasmin always make sure they have up as many Gu banners as they can.

It was just a really great day.  If your in the bay area, and have the time, it's a pretty great thing to get to spend a day with these two and help out a bit.  I think it is rare that they need help the whole day before, but I know for sure the evening before a race there are times that they could use a hand.

Walking into the park on race morning, seeing it full of people....people picking up their shirts and bibs and drinking coffee and hot chocolate....seeing the arch up and knowing how particular Sam was about that banner that hangs from the middle of the arch the day before..it all made me smile. I said to Jasmin that it felt a bit "if you build it, they will come" ish, to which she agreed.

 So if you are keeping track, that was lunch, hats/visors, shirts, free entry to a future race...but more importantly....we got to spend a day being part of the Brazen family and getting to experience a very teenie tiny part of what Sam and Jasmin do.  It had already been such a full, good weekend...and we aren't even to race day yet! Recap will be up tomorrow!Here's a sneak peak-

I'm in the purple and blue...with the Brazen visor : )

wowzers...I'm looking a  little mean.

I may look mean, but I was having a blast!!