I arrived at 7:30am just as the event was getting set up in the grounds of Harewood House. I met some fellow volunteers (being on my own I soon latched on to some friendly faces) and we put on our crew T-shirts and went to get a bacon butty and a cup of tea.
I was soon put to work on the Registration desk, signing in the excited walkers ready for the 20 mile walk to begin. After they were all signed in we went and joined in with the warm up
and at 9:30am the 20-milers were off!
all heading off into a very lovely June morning (I hope they all had suncream and sun hats because it was due to get much much hotter)
The glorious day was just getting warmed up, so there was a small lull where we were able to get out our sun hats, put on some sun cream and help out on a few jobs, like getting the medals ready for the walkers return and setting up the finish line.
I was then re-assigned to a team of marshals and was placed at a strategic point on the route to await the walkers and alert any traffic to their approach (I had about 5 cars through the 2 hours I was there).
Boy, what a lovely view point I had. So I got out my chair and my packed lunch to keep myself company and await the walkers (I was never really alone, all the time I was being circled by some majestic Red Kites - probably eying up my packed lunch).
But the walkers were soon to arrive and for 2 hours I was a smiley face at the top of a very steep, evil hill at 8.4 miles.
After 2 hours of watching tired, but smiley, faces walk past me I was thinking twice about the little spark of an emotional idea born while on the registration desk earlier that morning that I should do this 20 mile challenge. However, it hasn't gone away completely.
But for those 2 hours I smiled and encouraged. I hope I was appreciated. Some told me it was nice to see such a smiley face to greet them at the top of the horrible hill they had to tackle in such heat. Others may well have blamed me for the horrible hill they had to tackle in such heat and I am sure others were thinking "it's all very well for you, you haven't had to tackle this horrible hill in such heat". But I kept the smile and the encouraging and joking up for the 2 hours until the last walkers had passed my little checkpoint (one lady even recognised me later from being at the 8.4 mile check point - I hope that was a good sign).
It was then back to the site for 1:30, just in time to enjoy a Pimms and Lemonade (bursting with fruit) with some fellow volunteer friends (who had been on car park duty) in the sun while awaiting the first walkers to return and when I would be put onto cheering duty.
This is the life!
After seeing the first few walkers come in (20 miles - 5 hours), I was again re-assigned as a gate marshal on the homeward stretch.
At this point it is less than half a mile home and the point when the walkers pass by Harewood House itself and make their way across the final field to the finish point where they are greeted by cheerleaders (doing fantastic pyramid arrangements for such a hot day), Morris Dancers, yoga and massages (not to mention the BBQ).
And after some of the final (although not all) walkers were through I went back to grab my own burger of the barbie before heading home at 6:30.
Weary but very happy!
I think that myself and the other 100 volunteers made the event work for the 500 walkers who took part. I just hope they do it again next year (unfortunately numbers in Yorkshire have been lower than at the other Pink RibbonWalks and it is yet to be confirmed whether they will be coming back to Harewood House - although perhaps that is me off the spot for doing the actual walk next year). And I am also very glad that it was yesterday and not today because it might not have been such a glorious day to be a volunteer if it had been raining.
All in all I am so glad that I did it, Yay to volunteering.
