The volunteers did a great job

Long after the final racer left the course Saturday volunteers for The News and Sentinel Half Marathon and Two Mile Races continued to work on the details that make road racing in Parkersburg so special.

Hundreds of volunteers work on the race, without them it would not be possible. They cook the pasta, they hang the banners, they place the medal around your neck and tell you “good job”. They also stand as a human traffic cone for hours so that a car doesn’t hit runners. They give up most of a Saturday to hand a cup of water to someone they don’t even know, and they love it, and they do it every year, Without them the races wouldn’t happen as they have for 26 years.

The city of Parkersburg has a world-class half marathon and a great two-mile race, and it has these races because about 1,000 people care enough to be part of a special event that makes living in the area just a little more special.

Volunteers wear a neon green shirt when they work the race. It’s all they get for their efforts. The next time you see someone around town wearing a day-glow shirt, rest assured that they know what it means to be part of a community.

The Parkersburg News and Sentinel, which helps sponsor the race, and the race committee that plans it, know the race couldn’t happen without the help of this group.

Thank you volunteers. You did a great job today, just as you have done for the last quarter century.