By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

CASCO — For anybody who loves running, it can be a meaningful and life-changing experience to be up close to the runners finishing the Boston Marathon.

That’s what happened for a group of women who volunteered as finish line gear checkers. Those are the people who return backpacks with extra shoes and other post-race items to the racers after they finish.

Two weeks ago, about a half-dozen women who belong to the Casco Running Club volunteered at the Boston Marathon. The volunteer opportunity came through Girls On The Run (GOTR) an organization with which all the women are affiliated. GOTR has a volunteer slot there. However, it is very competitive; and the group must get an invitation from the Boston Marathon, which happened in December. 

This year proved to be especially exciting because their role as volunteers put them very close to the racers.

“It’s always [a highlight] watching the people ‘cause we are at the end and the people have just come in. Some of them have run a million times, but most of them it might be their first time or their only time. It is very emotional. Boston is very emotional. A marathon is very emotional,” according to Jennifer Lewis, of Casco.

The volunteers act as a support system.

“It’s not just giving them their gear back,” said Rae-Anne Nguyen, also of Casco, “It’s cheering for them, and telling them congratulations, and hearing about their journey, and taking pictures.”

Allie Hafford, of Naples, joined in, describing the finish line.

“It’s helping them put their sweatshirts on and their shoes on because they are uncomfortable and their bodies are falling apart and they are emotional,” Hafford said.

The GOTR group is definitely a team.

“We all run together all the time so we work together really well. It can get hectic with 50 to 100 people coming through in a five- to 10-minute timeframe. It’s good we work well together,” Nguyen said.

“It is great to see people from every walk of life and from every level of experience just reaching for that big goal, and to see their emotional reaction as they cross. It is really cool seeing them celebrate,” Hafford said.

Running the Boston Marathon is definitely accomplishing a feat that is worth celebrating.  

“Boston is a really hard marathon to get into. You have to qualify. Or you have to raise money. Raising money for Boston — they want a lot. It is a lot of work. It is a lot of work training to run and it is a lot of work raising $12,000,” Lewis said. “A lot of us may never do that but we can still feel part of this amazing day by being there, helping these people.”

Meet runner Jennifer Morris

One of the women in the Casco Running Club ran the 26.2 miles and finished the Boston Marathon this year. That was Jennifer “Jae” Morris.

“This year, the highlight was being able to be at the finish line when Jae came in. We could get really close to her. We didn’t have to wait for her to come out like most families do because we were already there,” Lewis said.

Morris shared what was going through her head as she ran her first ever marathon.

“ ‘Stay upright. Don’t die’ was a big one. That was the goal— to cross the finish line. I didn’t have too much else for a goal,” Morris said.

“I was not really sure how the day would go. I have heard all the horror stories about how hard Boston was as a coarse. So I pretty much knew how stupid doing it as a first marathon was,” she said.

Determination got her to Boston and determination kept her legs moving.

“I really wanted to do it. I really wanted to raise money for GOTR. I really wanted to cross the finish line and see my friends at the end,” she said.

Morris said without the support of the women in the running club she would not have gone through with this goal. She credited her running friends and a streak of stubbornness.  

“Once I got going, I didn’t want to give up. That was motivation —  not giving up,” she said.

Training for the 26.2 mile marathon involved running many more miles than she usually logged and eating much more food than she was accustomed to consuming.

“I have never eaten so much food in my life as I ate during marathon training. It was so much food and while you are running, too,” Morris said. “While I was running, just the gels. Before and after, so much food. So much food. I was just hungry all the time.”

Nguyen said the caloric requirement is 100 to 200 calories every 45 minutes.

“You burn 100 calories a mile. That is more than a day’s worth of calories,” Morris said.

Following the race, Morris visited the GOTR booth to take some photos.

Photos are one way people capture their marathon moment.

“We have helped take pictures of a lot of people’s accomplishments like that. A couple years ago, there were a couple women who showed up at our bus, and asked us to take a photo. We do a lot of picture-taking,” Lewis said.

This year, a man asked the women for help sorting his medals. Boston was his sixth major marathon. Nobody exchanged names. They just shared in the fleeting moment. 

“It is really powerful to see the work that people are putting into it, the emotional experience they are having and to be able to be part of that environment. The energy is in the air — you can feel it,” Hafford said. 

Kerry McKinney, of Casco, agreed. 

“I have never run a marathon. I don’t know that I every will. And that’s okay. It is really cool to see all these different types of people. It is neat to see people from different countries. People have traveled all this way to come to Boston because it is the best.

Everyone says there is nothing like Boston. That is neat to see people who have traveled so far to come to our ‘little city,’ ” McKinny said.

What is Girls On The Run?

Girls On The Run (GOTR) is a nationwide program aimed at girls in third to fifth grade.

It teaches running techniques and sportsmanship; and also, through the program, young girls learn life skills and discuss ethics.

The non-profit’s motto is: “About so much more than running.”

Several women in the Lake Region community are affiliated with GOTR. Additionally, that same group of volunteers belongs to the Casco Running Club.

“Being part of Girls On The Run — we are coaches, volunteers. It’s for 3rd through 5th graders. It’s a lot of life lessons and running,” according to Rae-Anne Nguyen.

Fellow runner Jennifer “Jae” Morris recently raised money for GOTR of Greater Boston

“I get their newsletter. Today, the lesson was on empathy. The other day, the lesson was friendship. It reinforces life skills. It is more than just running. It’s learning how to be a good person, and about themselves,” Morris said.   

For more information about the program or to get involved as a volunteer or to donate, go to girlsontherun.org

Running club meets Tuesday, Saturday

The Casco Running Club gets together for casual runs twice a week.

The running club has a code of acceptance, rather than an air of competition, according to member Rae-Anne Nguyen.

“We are not about requiring everybody to be fast or super fast. We do our own thing. We celebrate everybody — no matter their pace or the distance they can run,” Nguyen said.

The club does a group run Tuesdays at 6:15 p.m. People meet in the dirt parking lot across from the Sebago State Park entrance. 

A second group run usually takes place on Saturday, but sometimes it happens on Sunday. 

“We put it on our Facebook group. We have 90 members on our private Facebook group,” Nguyen said.

“We have a solid 10 to 12 [people] who rotate through our group runs. It is not huge but we like it,” she said. 

“We always welcome more people,” she said, adding, “It’s just really fun.”