‘About building community’: How volunteers at Happy Valley’s Ironman make the triathlon run

It was an early Sunday morning for almost everyone participating in the Ironman 70.3 Pennsylvania Happy Valley triathlon.

While spectators trickled in consistently throughout the day — some joining right away at Bald Eagle State Park and others filtering in for the final leg on Penn State’s campus — athletes and staff were up by dawn. The first wave of swim volunteers began arriving around 4 a.m., prepping for competitors to start plunging into Foster Joseph Sayers Lake three hours later.

But the earliest shift of the day started at 3:30 a.m., about eight hours before the first person crossed the finish line. In the Beaver Stadium parking lot, a small team of volunteers watched the sunrise while loading athletes onto shuttle buses and sending them on their way to the race’s starting point more than 25 miles away.

At the group’s head was Mackenzie Lee, a 15-year-old State High sophomore and one of this year’s Ironman volunteer captains. Even in what might have felt like the dead of night, Lee thrived in the role.

“Honestly, it’s such a fun experience because all the racers are so excited — (they have) huge smiles on their faces,” she said. “If you’re there at the end, you get to see them start and finish. You’re really proud for them.”

This year, Kiel Bur of Savannah, Georgia, won first place overall, with a time of 4:25:02 in the triathlon that involves 1.2 miles of swimming, 56 miles of cycling and 13.1 miles of running. Caroline Moyer of Malvern was the first female finisher — she also won last year — with a time of 5:02:11. As usual, volunteers waited eagerly at the finish line of Beaver Stadium’s 50-yard line, handing out medals and water to athletes.

To put on an event like Ironman — a course that comprises two counties and more than 1,000 athletes — about 1,000 volunteers are needed, said Josh Cone, Happy Valley’s local race director. From checking in athletes, bags and bicycles Friday and Saturday morning to cleaning up paper cups and orange peels after the last runner has crossed the finish line, volunteers are the engine that keeps the race running smoothly.

“It doesn’t happen without the volunteers,” Cone said. “It’s not possible.”

Most volunteers, like Lee, are more than happy to take on the responsibility. She volunteered at Happy Valley’s first Ironman last summer to cheer on her cousin, who flew in from California to compete in her hometown. Even though her cousin wasn’t able to make the trip this year, Lee knew she wanted to come back.

Last year, Lee volunteered at one of the bike aid stations, handing out drinks and snacks to passing runners. The gratitude she experienced from racers stuck with her, she said. Even after her shift ended, individuals who noticed her volunteer shirt would stop by and give their thanks.

“It was one of those things I thought about every day since I volunteered,” Lee said.

Recruiting enough volunteers is especially important to making Ironman happen in Happy Valley, where the course physically takes up more space than at other Ironman races. Typically, races will start and end in the same spot, but instead of looping, Pennsylvania’s route runs straight through Clinton and Centre counties.

This also means that the transition areas — the spots where athletes switch from swimming to bicycling and bicycling to running — are in two completely different locations. While racers transitioned to bikes just off shore at Bald Eagle State Park, the next transition area was about 25 miles west by Beaver Stadium.

“It’s double the amount of volunteers, double the amount of bike racks, double the amount of cones, double the amount of tables,” volunteer director Juliandra Jackson said about the Happy Valley triathlon. “Everything’s more than what is needed at a typical race.”

The first batch of volunteers set up in the water — kayakers, paddle boarders and local water rescue crews who made sure athletes stayed safe while swimming. Then, another group helped direct athletes to the bike-mounting or self-serve sunscreen stations.

There were three aid stations along the 56-mile bike course: one in Mill Hall, one at Nittany Valley True Value Hardware and another by the intersection of Black Hawk and Upper Brush Valley Road. Beyond handing out water to passing cyclists, bike marshals alerted riders to any upcoming turns.

While athletes pulled themselves out of the lake and got ready to start pedaling up Eagle Valley Road, volunteers at run stations across the Penn State campus were setting up, unfolding tables and unpacking snacks and drinks. There were five aid stations along the running course, with groups of anywhere from 40 to 80 volunteers all wearing light blue Ironman T-shirts.

At the second run aid station, located near the HUB on Pollock Road, Monica Mahoney was volunteer captain for the second year in a row. The station specifically recruits volunteers through Centre Volunteers in Medicine, a health care group that also helps organize the Nittany Valley Half-Marathon.

The weekend is about celebrating athletes, Mahoney said, but it also promotes growth within central Pennsylvania.

“It’s about building community where we are,” she said. “Supporting local events brings more local events, and that’s just good for our area.”

Even before athletes started making their way across campus, volunteers at the CVIM station kept their energy up by cheering on non-Ironman runners passing by on the sidewalk. Once the first Ironman athlete ran by at 10:05 a.m., the team sprung into action — handing out small paper cups of water, Gatorade, Coca-Cola and electrolyte drinks.

Spectators were alerted of upcoming runners before they even rounded the corner. Whenever someone neared the station, volunteers would start clanging on cow bells, then clapping, then erupting in a chorus of cheers.

For Meira Minard, who’s been running in State College for more than 20 years, volunteering at Ironman offered a chance to be on the other side of the race — supporting athletes, rather than participating herself. Beyond raising money for CVIM by running marathons, she also directs the Rothrock Trail Challenge, a 25K that starts at Tussey Mountain Ski Resort.

“Seeing people testing their limits, pushing themselves and seeing what they can do is inspiring,” Minard said.

Farther down Pollock Road, another run aid station burst with the energy of two local youth groups: Penn State’s Engineering Summer Bridge program and State College’s Celtic Soccer Club. Buzzing with kids of all ages — some in costumes, others holding signs — the station made the triathlon feel more like a block party.

The summer program, which helps incoming freshmen prepare to major in engineering, had more than 30 students and staff volunteering Sunday morning — all who brought a shared excitement. When the first female racer ran by their station, the group exploded into shouts of support.

“It’s helping us build community within the group while actually serving the community, which is exciting,” said Lauren Griggs, director of Penn State’s multicultural engineering program.

Volunteering at Ironman also offered those who aren’t from State College the opportunity to feel more connected to the area, said Anwi Tadzong, a Penn State sophomore and one of the program’s upperclassmen mentors.

The station’s younger volunteers carried a similar enthusiasm, cheering on passing racers while clad in various breakfast-themed costumes. Dressed up as donuts, pancakes, waffles, maple syrup and a cup of ramen noodles, they passed around a sign reading “You can do this.”

Melanie Lucas’ 9-year-old daughter Madelyn wore a bright yellow banana costume. Although it was her first time volunteering at Ironman, the respect shown by athletes made the experience a memorable one, Lucas said.

As a parent, she said, she tries to sign up her kids for as many volunteer opportunities as she can. It brings people together and instills younger children with a sense of pride.

“(Madelyn’s) full of confidence and thinks it’s awesome to be able to stand out there and cheer,” Lucas said. “So, we figured that’s their contribution — to be the moral support and bring up the energy of the runners.”