Volunteers Needed - Parkinson Memorial Road Race
Please see below a message from Chris Quin, the organiser of our annual road race.
On the 18th September we are hosting our annual John Parkinson Memorial Road Race. This is a 50 mile bunch race on a course through Siddington and Lower Withington. This is the 60th year we have run the event.
To run an event like this on open roads requires a large number of helpers. A minimum of 25 in fact. So we are writing to you all to ask for volunteers to help support us run the event.
We need a number of different roles, from cake bakers and refreshment stall attendants through to marshals to help guide riders during the race.
Helping to marshal the race is not as daunting a prospect as it might seem at first. We will have professional motorbike outriders to do the hard bit. Marshaling requires you to stay at an appointed spot and when the race is approaching then we need you to wave a red flag (we will provide this) to let vehicles know of the approaching race. It also requires you to advise riders of any approaching danger from vehicles, pedestrians or horse riders that they need to be aware of.
We will be running 3 races on the 18th simultaneously. They will pass you at approximately 5 or 10 minute intervals. The racing will start at 9.30am and will last approximately 2 hours. The course is 10 miles long and will be 5 laps, so each group will pass you 5 times taking about 20-25 minutes per lap.
So if you can help out in any way, cakes, refreshments or marshalling then please contact Chris Quin on chrisquin@protonmail.com or go to our Facebook page and see the pinned post asking for volunteers.
Depending on your role, we would be looking for a time commitment from approximately 8.30am through to around 12.30pm; perhaps slightly later if you are doing refreshments. If we don’t get the minimum number of marshals we need then we would have no choice but to cancel the event as it would be unsafe to continue. This is one of our flagship annual events and is also a great opportunity to see some racing and meet up with fellow members, so if you are free on the day then please come along to help out your club.
Many thanks,
Chris