run for the nation 2009

Helping out at tomorrow's Run for the Nation event. RunNat2007 saw about 100 people participating, this time we will have more than 10 times of that!

This year's event will cover 14 states, each with teams of 3 running together, and upholding the nation in prayer. I was asked to help out in the Klang Valley section.

We have at least 25 areas in the Selangor/KL region, each with their respective Area Managers (AMs).
Each area comprises of 8 teams, each with their respective Team Managers (TMs) who will be driving along with the runners.
Each team will have an average of 3 runners who will be given prayer cards, which will be passed on to the next team, somewhat like a relay run.

The total distance covered by each area will be 40km, so each runner will run for 5km. Hence, it is open to anyone who is willing to run and pray. All routes will end up in PJEFC where earlier teams will welcome the last team from all 25 routes, where there will be a time for corporate prayer and worship, and also giving out of certificates and refreshment.

When Alex came up with the idea of a "Running Task Force", he wanted me to be their Team Manager. His teammates are all seasoned runners, having run in marathons all over and going for weekly runs as part of their routine. This special team would step in to help any team that have emergencies or are lacking in runners.

It's somewhat like a backup team that sends professional runners to run alongside and encourage them, and to fill in the gap where necessary.

The planning committee thought this was cool and gave them the go-ahead to be part of the backup team.

However, that meant I would have to know where everyone is and what route and schedule they would be on in case they suddenly call me at 6am to tell me one of their runners had just fallen ill and need to be hospitalised.

Oh, did I forget to mention that the race starts at 5am? (@.@) I have to be at PJEFC by 4am to finalise routes for my team, since I'm still getting emails with last-minute changes.

So anyways, we've just made calls to all AMs to send in a complete list of contacts for their Team Managers and also the routes that they will be running in. We've already had requests coming in for additional assistance. I've deployed all my runners to high priority teams (eg : there's a group with only 1 grrl running, another with just senior citizens, and some even without TMs).

One worst-case scenario will be if I have to go pick up my runner in Wangsa Maju after his 5am slot, drive him to Shah Alam for the 7am slot, then meet him again at the end of his route, and bring him to the final run at Petaling Jaya. Thank God I have a driver who doesn't mind doing all the driving.

I will be arming myself with my brother's Garmin GPS, Alex's new MAC with 7 hours of battery life so that I can refer to all 25x8 maps that everyone will be sending in by tonight and have 25x8 phone numbers in case additional deployment is needed, and tonnes of paper to jot things down.

If I am to leave the house by 3:30am, I don't see myself getting any sleep tonight! (0.o)