3 reasons why you should be a volunteer marshal at an Obstacle Course Race

Volunteer Marshals are the life blood of Races, whether they are road, trail or obstacle ones. For Obstacle Races (OCR) the sheer number of marshals required across the course is bewildering, not only for the main turns, but all the larger obstacles (more than 2 at most) and water stops. Without the volunteer marshals, many of the races would not happen.

Here are 3 reasons why you should volunteer marshal at least once!

• Makes races cheaper (especially OCRs) – As already mentioned, the number of marshals required for a race is bewildering. The vast majority of marshals at a race are volunteers. If all of the marshals were paid for their time – even at minimum wage – the costs of the race would sharply rise (and most likely not be economical). Volunteering will help keep costs down
• Makes it cheaper to race – As a volunteer marshal, you generally get a number of benefits as a “thank you”. This usually involves a free (or heavily discounted) race, free parking / camping, food & drink on shift and discounts on merchandise. Tough Mudder volunteers get a great package – discount on the race (£30 for a race if you do a half day shift) camping and parking (worth £30), T shirt and hat, fed and watered before, during and after the shift and 20% discount on all Tough Mudder Merchandise.
• You will have a huge amount of fun – I really enjoy volunteering, its a great way to save on money (see above) but to see so many people having fun and enjoying themselves is a reason in itself. I’ve volunteered mostly as Tough Mudder as I am there for the weekend, but have volunteered at many other races and the gratitude from the runners and race directors is no less.

Go volunteer, save some money, have fun and enjoy a different side to racing.

Volunteering at Muddy Maniacs and pouring water over the runners