Volunteers Needed
for the Rocky Raccoon 100 & 50 Mile Trail Races
at Huntsville SP near Huntsville TX
on 3-7 February 2011
Saturday-Sunday
There are quite a few jobs needed to manage this race effectively. Most of them are listed below. If you’d like to help, please let us know. We’d love to have your help. Please call or email and note the day(s), time(s) and means to contact you (name, phone, email, when to call)
Thx/Joe Prusaitis-RD
email the RD at
or call him at 512-294-6456
5 AID STATIONS: (each station has its own boss)
All of these stations need be staffed from 6:00am Saturday until 12:00 noon on Sunday. That’s 30 hours, and the work is typically broken into shifts. We assign volunteers by day and shift. Greatest need is during the first day. Second greatest is for night owls to work through the night.
| #1 | Nature Center | 
| Norman Langwell Jr
Brad Quinn |
| #2/3 | DamNation |  | Lynn Ballard |
| #4 | Park Road |  | Mariela Botella
Miles Klaff |
| #5 | Dog Wood | | Chris Chandler |
The aid station responsibility is the care and feeding of the runners. The aid stations will be set up and tore down for you. You need only show up and manage it during the race, i.e. (1) Hand out food & drinks, (2) Keep the table stocked, (3) Cook hot foods/drinks, (4) Make sandwiches, (5) Cut oranges, melons, bananas, (6) and do whatever you can to take care of the runners. One person needs to manage the stock (you need to know at all times what you have and how much). Inventory the stock to see what is low, missing, or in excess. Somebody else will be constantly checking with you to see what needs you have. You should know before they ask, as they are covering every aid station and will only be there for minutes and then gone. Keep in mind that foods and drinks that are in demand early may not be later on. Some things go fast early on and then something else goes fast later on. After dark is when hot food and drinks become more critical. New this year: I would like to keep a few hot foods available during the day. You do not need to tear down the station, but please clean it up and pack it up when you get down to the last few runners. Make it ready for the Course Control guys to tear down.
AID STATION SUPPORT: (Joyce Prusaitis)
Stock & Support the aid stations. Also, manage the drop bags. 5am Saturday until noon on Sunday. Also: Stock the aid stations on Friday.
Pre-race stock can be done with a crew of 2 to 4 people. The race day crew will need at least 6-9 people, divided into teams of 3, the more people, the shorter the shifts. Aid station support is minimal early on, as they should already be set for a few hours. Time can be taken to arrange the drop bags. Later on, one person can check on the stations, while another gets copies of the drop/finish list, while another can run into town if there is a need.
Pick up and deliver the water, tables, tents, & food to each station. Constantly check all stations food/water to make certain they have what they need. Go to the store for additional supplies when needed. Get what you need before you need it. This is a support job only. You do not need to put up or tear down the stations.
Pick up all (DamNation) drop bags at 5am on Saturday. Delivery them immediately as the runners will be coming down the jeep road soon after 6am. Organize the drop bags numerically (separate 100mi & 50mi) at DamNation. Check the (DFL) Drop/Finish-List once and hour. Bring back all drop bags from the list. Inform each aid station with names/numbers from this list. Take a few copies of the DFL so you can leave one with each aid station.
COURSE CONTROL: (Henry Hobbs)
1) Mark and manage the course. Place all course markers (signs, ribbons, trail blocks, wrong ways, glow sticks). Tear down all course markings after the last runner. Course ribbons needs to be put up first (Thursday). These do not block the trail but do cover the entire course. These are confirmation markers and should be used quite liberally. Directional signs are done next (Friday). Wrong directions are blocked. Wrong Way signs and whatever else deemed necessary to control the direction of the runners. Every effort is made to make it so obvious that anybody can follow the route. Do not block any trail until Friday. Hikers and mountain bikers will only tear it down. Glow sticks are done in two parts. A minimal amount used for from start to DamNation for the first hour of dark (before the start). Later in the day the entire course is covered before it becomes dark.
2) Put up each aid station: includes tents, tables, & water (Best done on Friday: my concern is with theft). Put them up and tie them down. These are not difficult but do take some time. Each tent can be done by one person but is best done in teams of two.
3) Tear Down: occurs in a rolling pattern following the last runner. Care must be taken to not take down anything that might be also used on the return route. This includes all course markings, blocked trails, trash, and aid stations.
4) Trail Guides: at key intersections early to make certain every person goes the correct way on the first loop. There are 3 key intersections. (1) sidewalk/road crossing: Make certain the cars watch for runners, (2) Interpretive Center: Turn runners right going out & right coming back, (3) Amy's Crossing: Coming from the trail: turn 100milers left, turn 50milers right… coming from the jeep road: nobody turns, make them go strait thru.
All of these jobs are best done in teams. Work in tandem so that you can cover more ground working opposite directions from one other and to join up again later. This is true for marking, station setup, trail guide, and tear down. This crew is the busiest and best suites those who want to get in some running. You will likely cover the entire course many times. With teams and shift work, depending on who can work when, this can go all race long or just for shifts depending on what each of you can handle. Might be some overflow between this job and Aid Station support if you get bored.
| (Thu) | mark the course |
| (Fri) | put out signs, trail blocks, wrong ways, cones |
| (Fri) | put up the aid stations, tents & tarps |
| (Sat 4am) | put out glow stick from start to DamNation |
| (Sat 6am-9am) | trail guides at key intersections |
| (Sat 3pm) | hang glow sticks - entire course |
| (Sun 11am) | tear down markings & pick up trash |
SPLIT TIMING: (Angela Weatherill)
Track every runner's splits & Maintain Drop/Finish-List. This job begins Saturday morning before the first runner comes in on the first loop and continues until Sunday noon when the last runner comes in. (1) Split Sheet: track every runner’s time for each loop. (2) Drop/Finish-List: to track every runner who has left the course, either via finishing all loops or by stopping early. This allows us to track every runner who is left on the course, return drop bags, and assist the aid stations in tracking who is left on the course. This is very handy when we start looking for the end of race detail of who’s left on the course. This job requires constant attention at the finish line so as to not miss any person’s time, either intermediate of final. A group of 4-8 people could take turns in shifts doing this with two at a time minimum. Saturday morning when everyone is coming in at the same time requires more help, while the night time shifts are the most difficult and should have two people.
RESULTS & DATA BASE: (Kyle Wilkie)
a) Manage the database.
b) Work with Late registration to input final entrants
c) Create timing sheets for each aid station
d) Create partial & final results.
e) Create award winner's lists for each awards presentation.
f) Work with the Split Timers live during the race to manage and generate (finishes list and drop list)
g) The goto guy during the race to find out WHO is WHERE.
PACKETS & REGISTRATION: needs a boss
This job covers many small parts and covers different time periods.
1) Packet Stuffing: includes the bags & everything that is stuffed in them. All materials are collected and stuffed long before the race. Race info & sponsor flyers.
2) Shirts: Race shirts need to be sorted by size and race (100mi or 50mi) and then split between pre-registered and ‘what is left’ for late registration. Shirts are only stuffed if every race bag has been labeled with name and shirt size. Typically this is not done, but does save some time during packet pickup at the expense of using your time in advance to do this.
3) Packet Pickup: Handout of packets and shirts to all those who have pre-registered.
4) Late Registration: Late Signup, new packet distribution, and data entry of newly entered runners.
This job needs somebody in Austin initially to collect all the materials (bags, flyers, and shirts), to organize a small group to stuff all the bags, and then to transport all this together to Huntsville. Packet Pickup & Late registration needs two groups of 2 people each to manage this on Friday from 2pm until 8pm.
Packet Pickup and Late Registration occurs again Saturday morning from 5am until 7am. After late registration is over, all the new data needs to be entered into the database. Once this is done, this job is done.
MEDICAL: (Jonathan Judge)
And finally we get to the most important job. We are always in need of medically qualified personnel (Registered Nurse or Paramedic) to be on standby for simple medical emergencies or mishaps and to provide medical aid. Usually, we only deal with cuts, scrapes, stings, and occasionally with hypothermia after dark when the temperature drops.
The event runs from Saturday 6am until Sunday noon, but typically, there is little for the medical staff to do. Different shifts will be worked out dependant on how many people offer to help and which shifts they can work.
The closest hospital is less than 10 miles away in nearby Huntsville. We provide medical kits, require each runner sign a medical release, and create an emergency plan of contacts, directions, and contingency plans. All we need is qualified people to show up and help.
MAPPING & COURSE CERTIFICATION: (Chris Matus)
a) Make certain of the course distance (for each event)
b) Verify distance between aid stations
c) Create the offical Course Map
d) Create topos and profiles
e) Of course, there is no official certification process for any TRAIL race, but this is about as good as it gets.
f) I asked Chris to describe in detail the techniques we use... and this is his desciption: (Keep in mind: he wrote this description a few years ago, so although the course has changed, the distances and our method have not. We have had occasion to put three odometers on a single bike and carry multiple gps units.
Measuring any off-road course can be difficult and inaccuracies will occur. By implementing a variety of techniques and measuring tools, inaccuracies are kept to a minimum. It is near impossible to have an off-road course be {spot-on} in terms of distance. There are too many variances in the terrain. But, we have worked very hard in verifying the distances for each section of the course and for the overall distance for each race.
A few years ago, we began with this method: A mountain bike fitted with a Cat Eye bike computer, calibrated and verified for accuracy, was used as the main field-measuring device. The sensor was mounted on the front wheel and great care was taken to keep the front wheel on the ground to assure accuracy. This required pushing the bike in the rougher sections. A Garmin GPSMap 76 GPS unit was also used. Its main function was to gather the track information for map making and elevation purposes. The other function the GPS unit served was to double-check the distances from the bike computer. The GPS was set to collect a point every 3 seconds. The course was ridden in sections and the distances were then put together to come up with the total distance. The data from the GPS unit then was downloaded into the GPS TrackMaker map-making software and all the erroneous points were taken out. The software uses elevation gain and loss for figuring distance. The reading was within 1%.
Additional resources: USGS 1 meter Digital Orthophoto Quadrangles: DOQs are a digital mapping product that combines the geometric qualities of a map with the detail of an aerial photograph. DOQs are derived from a scanned aerial photograph that has been corrected so that the image displacements caused by camera tilt and terrain relief are removed. USGS Digital Raster Graphics: DRGs are digitized versions of USGS 7.5 minute topographic maps
Now-a-days, we do this differently: I have a 6ft professional series rolotape measuring wheel (model 623) that I use. I walk the entire course and take exact measurements to the foot. Because the park changes the trails now and then for erosion control mostly, but sometimes for other reasons, I go out and remeasure the entire course each year just before the race. I asked a certified measurer who measures many of the road race courses in Texas with a Jones Counter to check it for me. I told him what I was already doing and he said it would be redundant. That he couldn't do any more than what we are already doing. He could not certify any trail course anyway and said it would be a waste of my money.
We use a GPS to lay down a track for map making purposes, but do not use a it for distance verification. All our numbers come directly from the wheel. The course is as accurate as we can make a trail race. We dont make any assumptions and we double check all our work. Chris Matus who has worked in the mapping/GIS field for 12 years has worked with me from the beginning. Having run this race 4 years, and directed it 10 years, there are no surprises or unknowns. The measuring of it is a slow meticulous process. I make it a point to be as accurate as is possible. I changed the course significantly in 2009 and since then, it's been pretty much the same. I am well aware of the times being posted on this course, I am actively involved with USAT&F and understand the need for accuracy for records. I also understand that although this course is not certified, I make it a point to make it as accurate as I can.