Volunteering as a LATO agent at the Nordea Riga Marathon
Without doubt, Nordea Riga Marathon is among the most important annual events in Latvia - it attracts enormous numbers of tourists and sportsmen from far-away countries, such as Kenya, Ethiopia and Japan, and from more than 60 countries altogether. Considering that a couple of years ago I was one of the twenty thousand runners taking part in the 5km distance, this time I preferred participating as a voluntary worker. Latvian Transatlantic organization (LATO) was looking for volunteers from the countryside rather than the capital, so by signing up I - along with two other girls - got to represent my home town, Jelgava.
Early in the Sunday morning, at 6.40 am, having driven for several hours the LATO bus stopped at Jelgava Central square in order to pick up the local volunteers - eight scouts, me and two other girls, for one of which we had to wait additional ten minutes, despite being particularly told to arrive in time. Still, soon enough to get to the city centre before the traffic was stopped and not miss the Marathon's grand start, we were on our way. Whilst on the road, all the volunteers were given white LATO T-shirts and pens that were a gift, not an item that volunteers are obliged to be equipped with. Also, we were divided into five groups - one for people from Iecava, two for the scout team from Bauska, one for Jelgava's scouts and the fifth, the smallest one - for us, girls. These groups later determined the specific part of the Marathon distance at which we were supposed to work.
In Riga, however, nothing went as smoothly as planned, starting with the supervisor of my group not waiting for us at the arranged place and time, and, hence, with us not getting the green Nordea vests that distinguished volunteers from sportsmen. Instead, we were told to get to the Stone Bridge and look for a guy in familiar clothing - either the T-shirt or the vest. Needless to say, the 11th November Embankment was crowded with runners, their fans and tourists who were waiting for their start just a few blocks further the street, and - even if the clothes of some people appeared to match the description - none of them looked resembled our idea of a coordinator of volunteers.
Yet, while waiting for somebody to come and give us further instructions as promised, I got to help some English-speaking tourists who wanted to know the best spots for cheering up their friends and doubted the reliability of the map they had printed out. The main cause of suspicion was a 4 km sign the tourists had seen in the Old Riga, regardless of the "4" in their map being drawn at a completely different place. Luckily, I could help them by explaining that distances of different lengths have separate signs and that, in order to follow their favourite sportsman, they had to pay attention to the colours of the signs coinciding with those on the runners' start numbers. Having easily memorized what we were told earlier, I could give an even more explicit answer and tell which colour was associated with each distance. Overall, apart from helping those tourists and thus doing a good deed, the conversation made me more aware of my English language skills - I found I could freely switch from Latvian to English without giving it particular thought.
Still, after speaking with tourists for a couple of minutes nothing had changed regarding my actual duties, that is, not a single person had come looking for us. Then, deciding to approach somebody ourselves, all three of us went up to a lady who, judging by her clothes, was certainly one of the organizers, even if not from LATO. Our choice in favour of acting instead of waiting proved to be the right one, for the woman not only gave us the green vests, but also called someone who was supposed to know more of our responsibilities. To my disappointment, the girl that soon arrived was even less knowledgeable of our destination than we were, for she was convinced the volunteers were needed only for the 5 km distance. Somehow, with several phone calls and a lot of stress - especially since the Marathon had already begun -, we found our positions almost by the Finish line, which made showing the runners the way our main task. I must admit, our responsibility was of more importance than I had expected, because at that part of the distance the track split in two - one leading straight to Finish, the other - into the second lap (for the 42 km distance). If a 21-kilometer runner would begin a second lap due to our inattentiveness, the confusion that would set in after a hundred metres could as well ruin the steady pace for other sportsmen.
Nevertheless, besides the significance of our work, the whole experience was more tedious than exciting. Naturally, the majority of people could read the gigantic signs indicating the correct way in spite of their weariness, wherefore my actions rarely exceeded simply making sure that nobody got lost. Perhaps the best part of the activity was the accidental opportunity to see the last metres that, even towards the end of the Marathon, were often very tense. At the same time, with the sun burning bright in the afternoon, the heat diminished my ability to view the runners' actions as an actual entertainment. Therefore, I cannot say I did not have fun volunteering at the Marathon, but the long hours we had to spend standing still in the sun (7 am until 4 pm) made the day more tiring than enjoyable, especially considering that the satisfaction gained through having to do so little was less than I had hoped for.
As always - photos. Some taken by myself, some found on the internet with myself in the background:
8 am, searching our working place
my green Nordea vest
my working spot: crossroads
the last hundred metres before the Marathon
the last hundred metres when the masses arrive
I am on the right - between the two policeman
©delfi.lv
©delfi.lv
again, on the right, in the colourful pants
©delfi.lv
©delfi.lv
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My reflections
Although a couple of years ago I took part in the Nordea Riga Marathon - one of the most significant annual sports events in Latvia - as a runner, this time I decided to take the opportunity of being a volunteer and representing the Latvian Transatlantic Organization (LATO). Just as I expected, enduring the day - from arriving at the Marathon at 7 am to the volunteer-awarding ceremony at around 4 pm - turned out to be quite a challenge, especially since the air temperature climbed up to 27°C in the afternoon. Thus, while I do not dare comparing myself to the people who ran either the half-marathon or the whole 42 kilometer distance spending five hours on the track, I think of this voluntary work experience as of the toughest so far.
Apart from the aggravating weather conditions and the long working hours, another reason for the experience being challenging and, to some extent, even disappointing was the relative simplicity of the task I - along with two other girls from Jelgava - was assigned to do. Standing at the crossroads and making sure that the sportsmen ran the right way in regards to the distance they had chosen was a highly responsible, yet very easy task since the majority of people were doing everything correctly on their own. Of course, the availability of information about each of the routes only indicates high quality of organization, but, from the perspective of a volunteer desiring active participation, the given work seemed more tiresome than exciting. Still, on the bright side, I was lucky enough to stand barely ten metres from the Finish line, and it made the experience much more interesting for I could see the winners, all of which finished the distance with an admirable result, as well as the intensity of emotions on every runner's face.
Reflecting more on the organization, however, I cannot say the best about LATO - the organization responsible for the volunteers, because we had to spend more than half an hour going from one person to another and searching for somebody knowledgeable enough to give us specific instructions. It caused a lot of unnecessary stress for us and for the people we - having no better ideas - were forced to trouble. Even then, however, I must admit the cloud again had a silver lining, since the extraordinary situation, as unpleasant as it was, allowed me to improve my problem-solving skills. In addition, while waiting for some unknown volunteer coordinator to approach us, I got to help out some English-speaking tourists by explaining the route and the significance of differently coloured signs for every distance. Since this encounter made me more aware of my ability to speak English rather freely, without giving it particular thought, I consider this one of my most valuable gains of the whole day.
Overall, as any large public event of high importance, being a part of it was a nice experience and, despite everything, I do not regret signing up for it.
Apart from the aggravating weather conditions and the long working hours, another reason for the experience being challenging and, to some extent, even disappointing was the relative simplicity of the task I - along with two other girls from Jelgava - was assigned to do. Standing at the crossroads and making sure that the sportsmen ran the right way in regards to the distance they had chosen was a highly responsible, yet very easy task since the majority of people were doing everything correctly on their own. Of course, the availability of information about each of the routes only indicates high quality of organization, but, from the perspective of a volunteer desiring active participation, the given work seemed more tiresome than exciting. Still, on the bright side, I was lucky enough to stand barely ten metres from the Finish line, and it made the experience much more interesting for I could see the winners, all of which finished the distance with an admirable result, as well as the intensity of emotions on every runner's face.
Reflecting more on the organization, however, I cannot say the best about LATO - the organization responsible for the volunteers, because we had to spend more than half an hour going from one person to another and searching for somebody knowledgeable enough to give us specific instructions. It caused a lot of unnecessary stress for us and for the people we - having no better ideas - were forced to trouble. Even then, however, I must admit the cloud again had a silver lining, since the extraordinary situation, as unpleasant as it was, allowed me to improve my problem-solving skills. In addition, while waiting for some unknown volunteer coordinator to approach us, I got to help out some English-speaking tourists by explaining the route and the significance of differently coloured signs for every distance. Since this encounter made me more aware of my ability to speak English rather freely, without giving it particular thought, I consider this one of my most valuable gains of the whole day.
Overall, as any large public event of high importance, being a part of it was a nice experience and, despite everything, I do not regret signing up for it.
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