Another race in my hometown – and another new volunteer duty! At the 2018 Mild Trail Inje race, I was stationed at checkpoint 2 with a cowbell. It was a chance to watch the race unfold from yet another angle; and to give back to the running community while proudly representing my pretty little hometown.
This race was completely unlike its similarly named sister race, Wild Trail Inje, one month earlier. Just like its name suggests, Mild Trail Inje was not a tough race. With its start and end point right in the town of Inje, it was easy-access for runners. And the course, although not without some steep and technical sections, was largely runnable. We knew the course well: it’s on the very trails we use daily for training! (In fact, one year earlier, we’d taken the race director out on a local run and perhaps helped plant the seed of an idea that grew into this race!)
Kent and I originally both registered to run the Mild Trail Inje race. We thought it would be a great way to challenge ourselves to run our favorite routes fast – and a great way to be part of another Inje event.
But this race was a last minute addition to the calendar of Korean events, and it just didn’t fit into our training schedule. Coach cautioned us against taking on too much, too enthusiastically. These weeks after Ijen Trail Running 70k, and before starting a new phase of training, were meant to be restful. With my work schedule, I was already pushing the outer limits of recovery…
So I opted to join Mild Trail Inje as a volunteer instead! A last-minute call to the race director secured me a position. As for Kent: well, he couldn’t resist the draw of the race and decided to pit himself against some of our favorite routes and some of the top runners in Korea!
Mild Trail Inje 2018
Mild Trail Inje started late, and just down the street from our place. Beforehand, Kent joined me on a short recovery run in the cool, foggy air of the early morning. Then we had a leisurely breakfast of pancakes, before slowly ambling over to the stadium adjacent to our workplace.
I’m not used to the cold weather yet, so I wrapped myself in several layers of sweaters and even packed a little blanket in my backpack! Luckily, I didn’t have to do much standing around. When we arrived, I spotted some familiar faces from last month’s race. Simba, the volunteer coordinator, quickly put me to work packing supplies for the checkpoint into the back of a truck.
Every chance I had, though, I’d slip back into the competitors area to find Kent. I’d squeeze his shoulders and tell him how excited I was for him! In the check-in line, we also found some of our friends! In fact, there was a mini delegation of Seoul Flyers! I was happy to see speedy Julian and his lovely wife Eunjin, and meet a couple of new friends too!
Runners exiting the check-in line were shuffled into another line to get taped! According to this race’s rules, athletes wanting to compete had to wear special athletic tape. Despite being openly dubious about its benefits for years, Kent was finally going to have to try taping.
But I couldn’t stick around to tease him about that. I had to say goodbye to my love and friends before the race started. At 10 am, I was off to help set up CP2!
One of the joys of this being essentially our very own race course was that I was able to be helpful right from the start. I knew where the checkpoint needed to be – at Soryujang, my favorite local restaurant at the end of Soyanggang Dullegil course #1! Together with Yo-Yo, another familiar face from Wild Trail Inje, and two new friends, we set up an aid station.
First, we needed to check in with the restaurant about where we could set up. Then, a flurry of activity: tents needed opening, banners required unfurling – and lots of bananas and hamburgers had to be cut! This was followed by a lull during which ate a quick lunch and enjoyed the beautiful scenery along the Soyanggang!
Then we waited eagerly for the first runners to arrive. I chatted with Jason, my fellow cheerleader for the day and another inspiring 4 Deserts runner! An update from the first checkpoint surprised us: the very first runner was a female teenager from Inje High School! I tried to imagine exactly where Kent would be running at that moment.
Our aid station was 19 kilometers into the race. We suspected we’d start seeing the first runners around 12 pm – about 90 minutes after the race started. And sure enough, we did!
The first racer was a man wearing a white t-shirt and Solomon gear. Jason and I whooped and hollered for him, ringing our cowbells! Yo-yo ran to meet him with an open bottle of water. After sloshing some into his bottle, we cheered him on into the final stretch of the race.
Less than two minutes passed before we saw the next racer – and this one I knew! It was Julian, tearing up the trail! I couldn’t help but cheer extra hard for my fellow Canadian and friend as he blazed through our CP and up onto the bridge behind it.
There was silence for about 5 minutes. And then we spotted the next racers – a group of three! We jumped up and down and rang our bells. But one runner pulled up short before the checkpoint, wincing and bending over his knees. Yo-yo ran to the rescue with some spray and a plastic chair, and Jason and I cheered on the other two runners.
I was really feeling the emotion of the race. It was so cool to see the runners coming in! I could see them long before they looked up and saw me, and I’d starting ringing my bell and shouting. I’d wave my arms or dance across the road to get their attention. Some runners were intensely focused and barely glanced up. Others reacted to the encouragement (or perhaps the promise of snacks and libations ahead) and waved back or pumped their fists.
After the leaders, the racers poured in steadily. For Jason and I, that meant constantly ringing our bells, offering high-fives and dispensing thumbs up and cries of ‘fighting’. Within half an hour, I’d nearly lost my voice from all the shouting! But I was having a blast.
There was one runner I wanted to see more than any other: my Kent! I craned my neck and squinted at all the incoming runners, hoping for a glimpse of him. And, there he was!
Giddy with excitement, I screamed and ran out out to meet him. He was running strong, and I was so proud that he’d already set a record on two of our three regular training routes! I ran with him to grab bananas and water, and up the familiar ramp to the bridge, sneaking in a kiss amid a bunch of hoarsely hollered encouragement. He blazed away, and I raced back into position to greet the next incoming racers.
The next couple of hours passed in a blur of clanging cowbells, amazing runners and the exchange of smiles and fist bumps. A few diners, including a monk, joined in the cheering! Jason and I laughed about how much noise we were making. The energy we put into cheering reflected right back at us. I found it very rewarding, and I decided that I want to do more volunteering in the future!
The cut-off time was 3 pm. At around 2, there were just 25 or so runners left on the course. As we approached cut-off time, we counted down the runners coming into our checkpoint. Not a single soul got cut; we cheered everyone in, including the two course sweepers!
After all the runners had passed through, we dismantled the checkpoint. It was a lot simpler than setting up, the runners having demolished most of the food and drinks we’d brought! That wrapped up my volunteer duty. Much like at the end of Wild Trail Inje (albeit under much less wild circumstances), I found myself in the back of an ambulance, riding back to town.
At the finish line, I caught up with a few friends (including speedster Julian – who’d raced in to an awesome second place finish!) before hurrying home to meet my personal champion. Kent’s time was an impressive 3 hours and 10 minutes. He really challenged himself against our home turf, despite being in recovery mode!
Lessons Learned
Just an easy one: volunteering is just as rewarding as running!
Going into the race, I thought I might feel impatient watching others run from a sedentary position. Nothing could have been further from the truth! For one, I was jumping up and down and dancing all day – so I wasn’t sedentary at all! And instead of feeling envious, I felt inspired and excited for all of the runners. Even more importantly, I realized that cheering creates energy. I remembered all the times that I’d heard someone cheering for me and how much it boosted my spirits, and tried to channel that feeling into my own cheering efforts. I really had an awesome time of it, and it’s safe to say that I’m going to be seeking out this role again in the future.
