the shamrock shuffle

Today I volunteered at Navy Pier for the Expo prior to the Shamrock Shuffle. It was a two-day affair in which runners and walkers could pick up their packets containing their bibs and chips (runners only). Actually they had to pick them up - they were not available at the race. My task was to help pass out packets.

Overall it was great experience. Most of the people were friendly and nice. They arrived with the information we needed to locate their packets within the boxes that lined the wall of exhibit hall. My first "customers" were actually two of the members of the partners group! Chicago can feel like a small town sometimes.

We were told when we started at 1pm, that there were still about half of the 25,000 packets waiting to be picked up. Honestly I was expecting mass chaos, but thankfully it never really happened. I am happy to report that most of the people we helped were in and out in under two minutes. Of course runners still had to go through chip check, and everyone had to pick up their tshirts and goodie bags which were on the other side of the room, which leads me to the bad.

A few people came up in very bad moods. They were angry they had to come to Navy Pier, which I agree can be a difficult venue to park at. In addition to this event, there was also a cheerleading competition, and of course the tourists - it is Chicago's most visited attraction. But because of that, there is also lots of public transportation to Navy Pier.

One woman was not very happy when I told her that she could pick up her tshirt on the other side of the hall. She was really frustrated and just plain angry. She complained, which felt a bit awkward as I had nothing to do with the planning of the event - I was just a lowly volunteer. My favorite though was a guy who told me that he was getting his mortgage from La Salle Bank, who happened to be the main sponsor. I am not sure what he expected me to do for him.

And then there was just the ugly. In addition to there not being enough parking at Navy Pier, there is a serious lack of restrooms. As far as I could tell there was one women's restroom that had a total of four stalls. The idea behind the Expo was to bring athletes in front of vendors. This seems to be a growing trend in these run/walk events. All the big players were there: New Balance, Nike, Adidas, etc - and they were there selling shoes and clothing. The problem was there were no dressing rooms. Thus many women improvised and decided to use the restrooms to try on their purchases.

The line was about out the door when I entered, only to see a woman come out of the stall, and knock on her neighbor's stall to get a 'second opinion'. Oh how I wanted to give her mine, but I didn't because it was taking all of my energy to hold my very full bladder. This woman actually stood there and then twirled around showing off her new black yoga pants! What is wrong with people? I was appalled. Meanwhile there were literally women popping their heads in, seeing the size of the line, and heading the other direction. It was crazy, but I survived.

I was there as part of a group from One Brick. One of the things that sets them apart is that they try and get the group of volunteers together before or after the event in order to help facilitate socializing. We ended up walking just beyond Navy Pier to a place called Dick's Last Chance. What a crazy place. The wait staff all have attitudes (one waitress had written on the back of her shirt, "Only Violent if Provoked"), and throwing of paper (happily provided by the staff) at nearby tables is encouraged. It is a great place for a large group, although a bit on the rowdy side.



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