- Volunteers
Dalmatian Run Fest needs you!
Racing has a really odd business model. What other industry relies so heavily on a few key part-time people and an army of volunteers? Yet volunteers are the heart and soul of any race, and races couldn't function without them. Dalmatian Run Fest is no exception: in order to provide a great experience to our runners while raising funds for our worthy beneficiary, TCAP, we need volunteers!
What do Dalmatian Run Fest volunteers get?
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Our volunteers get to help runners have fun, achieve their goals and stay safe.
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Our volunteers get fed: Coffee and Pastries for early shifts; pizza for mid-day shifts, etc. And you can eat and drink anything you want at the aid stations.
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Our volunteers get a special Volunteer swag bag!
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Our volunteers can get community service hours, so it's great for High School students! Volunteer with a friend to make it more fun and you can both earn your hours!
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Or if you don't need Community Service hours, you can get race credits towards free or discount races. **We're introducing a new Race Credit program in 2024. It's not ready yet, but it will be retroactive to al volunteer shifts in 2024!**
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We'll pay for hotel rooms for our Lead Volunteers.
What kind of volunteer roles are there?
Here's an overview. If you are interested in volunteering, please select the closest shift to your availability. The system will ask your exact times of availability later in the sign-up process
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Packet Pickup: Give runners their packets; answer their questions; assist them with things like switching distances; help with same-day registration.
Learn more about volunteering for Packet Pickup -
Main Aid Station: Feed runners and make sure their favorite foods are stocked, cheer them on, hand out finisher medals, do afternoon packet pickup
Learn more about volunteering at the Main Aid Station -
Far Aid Station: Feed runners and cheer them on, help keep them on course, monitor the out-and-back and the 10K turnaround. This role is physically demanding, since there's no parking or toilet facilities nearby
Learn more about volunteering at the Far Aid Station -
Paw Patrol Safety Team: Ride your bike, scooter or roller blades around the course to keep an eye on the runners and on the unmanned aid stations. It's helpful to have a backpack or bike basket to carry things, like packs of water.
Learn more about volunteering for Paw Patrol -
Logistics: Help out before and after the race! Logistics includes tasks on race weekend like course setup, Aid Station setup, Aid Station breakdown, Parking, signage, etc. We also need help the week before the race with things like shopping, packet stuffing, organizing, and loading the van. And we need help the week after the race with things like shipping awards, and inventory/ organizing/putting race gear away.
Learn more about race day logistics and pre/post race logistics -
5K Team: The 5K has a lot of moving parts, so we've created a separate 5K team to help ensure everything goes smoothly!
Learn more about volunteering for the 5K Team
Which jobs work best if you want to run AND volunteer the same weekend?
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If you're hoping to PR, volunteer for any of the shorter shifts so you don't get over-tired: packet pickup and Aid Stations are great, and so are some of the logistics roles. The description tells you what the physical demands will be.
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If you're training for a Triathlon, volunteer for Bike Support! Get bike training while volunteering!
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If you're an early bird, help John with Course Setup!
What jobs work best if you want to run AND volunteer the same day? It depends what distance you're running. You can:
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Volunteer for Packet Pickup, then run your race!
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Run a shorter race (like the Half Marathon, 5K or 10K), then volunteer at one of the aid stations!
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Volunteer as a Driver (it's part of Logistics) and help us out by running errands and/or shuttling volunteers before or after your race!
Which roles require the most people?
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Packet Pickup on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning: Most of our runners will run more than one day, which means that most of our runners will pick up their packets on Friday afternoon or Saturday. These are also the people that will have the most swag. If we can get them set up correctly at packet pickup, the entire weekend will flow better for them and for us!
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Packet Pickup on Monday morning: .We are generally the ONLY RACE IN TEXAS ON PRESIDENT'S DAY, so we may have a ton of runners! Also, the 5K is Monday & 5K runners are more likely than distance runners to be first-time racers, and more likely to do same-day registration. All of this means that Monday morning could be chaotic. Having plenty of packet-pickup volunteers can really help!
Which volunteer role is the most important?
The volunteer who brings the coffee, lol!! But seriously, any volunteer that is talking to the general public is in the most important role at that time. It's important to stay on the good side of the residents of the communities around the lake, so that their HOAs continue to give us permission to use their spaces
Which role is the hardest to fill?
The Medical Support role is the hardest to fill. This role is actually mis-named because it's not limited to medical personnel. Also it's not strictly volunteer:
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For Dalmatian Run Fest, we want people who have CPR/First Aid and are trained to react in a medical emergency, but who also have the knowledge to help a runner work out a cramp or stretch a sore muscle. So physicians and nurses, but also licensed 'body work' professionals.
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We have a (small) budget, and our 'medical' personnel can receive tips, get sponsorship promotions, and even sell some services.
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We prefer people who can commit to an entire 8-hour day, but you don't need to commit to the entire weekend.
