Destination Madison looking for hundreds of volunteers ahead of IRONMAN

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - The 20th edition of IRONMAN Wisconsin is Sunday, September 11th, and requires a tremendous effort from the participants and a great many volunteers to pull off the event.

“We need over 3,500 volunteers to pull off just the full distance IRONMAN,” said vice president of the Madison Sports Commission for Destination Madison Jamie Patrick.

Patrick says that for the first time, the mile-stone triathlon will be proceeded by a half IRONMAN the day before, on September 10th. Both need a tremendous amount of help from the area to make it possible.

“So it’s going to be two great days of racing, as well as celebrating the legacy of IRONMAN,” said Patrick. “Our race support is almost always in the top 10 of anywhere in the world that IRONMAN does it.”

He says volunteers fill various positions, from manning registration to race support to directing the over 2,500 athletes along the 140.6 miles of running, biking and swimming. Race director Ryan Richards says the volunteers boost morale for the athletes, who in turn feed off their positivity.

“They feed off the energy, the energy the volunteers provide, truly get’s them through their day,” said Richards. “As soon as they flashed a smile, gave a thumbs up, or a ‘thank you,’ to a volunteer or police officer that’s working on the corner, they feel like they got some energy and that can get them through either the next mile on the run course or next hill on the bike.”

Patrick says volunteers showing up and working with participants so well is what keeps events like the IRONMAN race returning to the city.

“I can’t tell you how many people have told me their life has been changed volunteering at an event, and we can host em without them; it’s just as simple as that,” said Patrick.

Patrick added the event still needs around 1,000 volunteers, and anyone can sign up right up to the day of the race. The application can be found on the Destination Madison website.

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