Manchester Half Marathon – Volunteer Role Profile

Read on for a quick round up of why we want you, and what volunteering at the Manchester Half Marathon will involve…..

Why We Need You!

Manchester Half Marathon needs enthusiastic, proactive and practical individuals, who are prepared to be placed in a variety of roles, as required, at the event. If you want to be part of an exciting mass participation sporting event and all whilst supporting runners to raise thousands of pounds for charities, then this is the role for you!

What Skills Do You Need?

• Great interpersonal and communication skills
• Initiative
• A willingness to work as part of a team
• Enthusiasm and a pro-active attitude
• A flexible approach
• Be physically active as some areas of this role may involve some lifting, standing, walking about etc

What Will You Be Doing?

Whilst we can’t guarantee which role you’ll be allocated, event roles will include:

Arrivals:

Meet and Greet

• We are looking for happy, friendly and enthusiastic volunteers to join our Arrivals meet and greet team!
• This is a really important position as you will be the first Manchester Half Marathon members of staff that our participants meet when they arrive in Trafford on event day – and the last face they see when they have finished the event and are looking to head home!
• This is a really fulfilling role as you will get to meet hundreds of our runners and have the chance to welcome them to Manchester, put a smile on their face and get them motivated for their run!
• Ideally we would like you to have a good knowledge of Manchester and how to get around so that you can advise and direct our participants, for example, on how to get to a particular metro station nearby.

Venue:

Bag Drop Off / Collection Area

• This is a crucial area to the success of the event because with thousands of runners turning up in October many will bring a bag with them.
• This area needs to be looked after by a dedicated team of friendly, switched-on volunteers who can help to run the bag drop area like clockwork!

Start:

Management Of The Start

• We need enthusiastic and friendly volunteers who can join our start team to motivate and inspire all of our runners before they set off on their 13.1mile challenge.
• You will be required to communicate and help control the flowof the thousands runners to the start line so that they start in the right place and at the right time and with a smile on their face!

Finish:

Welcoming Back Runners Into The Finish Area

• We need all singing, all dancing, happy, cheering, loud volunteers to welcome our runners across the finish line and to congratulate them on their achievement.
• You might also be adorning them with medals and handing out t-shirts and medals.

Course Route:

Route Marshalling

• You will be part of a team who are our eyes and ears on the course. You will be positioned at key points around the run route to help direct our runners in the right direction, helping to keep an eye out for safety issues such as runners needing support, spectators encroaching on the route, or vehicles not fully complying with road closures. You’ll be doing this all whilst cheering participants on and keeping them motivated! So, you will need to be loud and energetic no matter what the weather!
• You may also be located at key pedestrian crossing points across the route to ensure that members of the public can safely cross the route. For this role you will need to be confident, friendly and be prepared to use your voice!
• You’ll be supported by a Zone  Manager and Moto Marshals so may not have to deal with these challenges alone but we’ll need you to be notifying us when support is required.

Drinks Station

• This is where our runners can grab a quick drink and maybe a moment’s rest so we need a team of organised, friendly, welcoming volunteers to support our runners when they need it most, and to keep them hydrated, feeling positive and get them back running again.

How Much Time Do You Need To Commit?

Your commitment to volunteering will only be one day – the Event Day on the Sunday. Start and Finish timings and the length of your shift will vary depending on the role you are doing. On average shifts are around a maximum of 7-8 hours.

We do ask you to prepare for the event by reading through the information provided, which will detail your role and important information about the event. You’ll receive this information approximately 2 weeks before the event and it should take approx. 30 minutes to an hour to read through and understand.

Please note we will not know the exact shift timings until nearer the event date and so more accurate information will be briefed to you by the event volunteer team in the run up to the event.

What Support Will You Be Given?

A member of the team will be in touch before the event to send you a briefing about your role. Your allocated team leader will brief, guide, support and work closely with you on the day at the event.

What Are The Benefits?

• The satisfaction of knowing that you are making a valuable contribution to the event, which in turn is helping to raise vital money for charity.
• The opportunity to develop communication and event skills
• Experience working at a large mass participation sporting event!
• The enjoyment of meeting new people and being a part of our team
• The knowledge that you will have made a positive impact and provided invaluable support, improving the experience of participants and spectators

We look forward to welcoming you to the team!