Pumpkin Push!

My friend Jessica invited me to volunteer this year at Neighborcare Health's annual Pumpkin Push 5k.  I was really excited, since I'd never actually volunteered at a race before!  The Pumpkin Push seemed like a great place to start...it raises money for healthcare for homeless patients, and it's great fun since runners are usually dressed to the nines.

I woke up quite early for a Saturday and drove down to Seward Park in Seattle.  It was still dark when I arrived, but on the plus side, I got to park SUPER close to the volunteer tents.

They had coffee and pastries available for volunteers, which was very thoughtful.  Originally Jessica and I were assigned to help with "day of" registration, but then I ended up helping set up cones and mile markers instead.

Registration and porta-potties!

My volunteer handiwork

The 1 mile marker was on the park trail, but not near a road, so another volunteer and I got to walk it out to its place and then walk the mile back to the start of the race.  It was so nice to get fresh air and take in the beauty of the park!

Once I got back to the start, Jessica and I reconnected and headed over to help run the "Green Your Halloween" booth.

Mikkel, Jessica, and me

We had brightly colored pens for people to write down ideas or check off ideas they'd employed that year.  I especially liked "Grow Your Own Pumpkins" and "Recycle Costumes."  The most extreme idea came from a fellow who wrote "Go Naked."  A very private Halloween party, I hope. 

We handed out Fruit Leathers and mini Larabars, which made our booth pretty popular.

We chatted to runners, spectators, and each other, and danced around to the music coming over the loudspeakers.  I found time to snag more shots of the gorgeous scenery...

...and the awesome costumes.

Wilma Flinstone

Minus 99 Dalmatians

Sharks and Kitties

Charlie Brown with Snoopy

Some folks stuck with this year's tee shirt for their racing attire.  Pretty cute design, if you ask me!

Then, before we knew it, the race was on, and we were headed over to the finish line to cheer on the runners.  Some elite runner dude named Joel Gray (I think?) finished first in 15 minutes and change.  Holy smokes!

Speedy Elite Dude

Speediest Dudette

After cheering and clapping, we went on to our next assignment: Zombie Team Leads.

Yes, that's right.

 We gathered up the zombies at the Zombie Check In and escorted them over to the main stage for their special performance.  We managed to keep them from eating anyone, so I would say it was a success.

The zombies danced to Michael Jackson's Thriller.  It was pretty fun.

And just like that, 4 hours of volunteering were over!  I said a fond good-bye to Jessica as we made plans to come back and volunteer again next year...and maybe run the race, too!