It's a fair question. When was the last time you really thanked a race volunteer for giving of their time and experience to help make your race experience wonderful?

I know that racing can be stressful for a lot of runners. I, myself, get really nervous, especially if it's a race for which I have high hopes of a PR. A lot of times, I'm completely focused on myself, looking for a parking spot, finding the shortest porta-potty line, wanting my bib with plenty of time to warm-up, and staying in the groove until the gun goes off.

Then, once you're racing, you're often working too hard to really demonstrate your appreciation for that much-needed glass of water or helpful hand pointing you to stay on the course.

But try to imagine the race day from the eyes of a volunteer:

They arrive hours before the first runner and start the day with heavy lifting - literally. Volunteers who set up a race have to unload boxes of t-shirts, goody bags, food, banners and signs, and let's not forget gallons and gallons of water.

Next comes registration. While most runners are going to be friendly and zip through registration or packet pick-up quickly, there are always things to correct: this runner is registered as a male but is actually female - that's an error that could have a major impact of race results. Or this runner wants to transfer from the 10k to the 5k - better make sure that information gets to the timer!

Out on the course, it's not just "stand there and clap" for race volunteers. Rain or shine, cold weather or beating sun, volunteers often have to manage their position for hours on end. Aid station volunteers get splashed with water and sticky energy drink, and their job isn't done until they've picked up every single Gu wrapper and crushed paper cup.

Traffic volunteers are key. Not only will they keep you on course, but they'll handle the occasional jerk who thinks their right to the roads is more important than runner safety. True story - I once had to confront a man who was trying to drive up the Portland Marathon Course by Montgomery Park to get to the hospital. He was irrational - his father had been taken by ambulance - but he was ready to jeopardize hundreds of runners rather than listen to me. (Fortunately, a large group of spectators and other volunteers soon helped me prove my point and the man drove around.) Another true story - I was waiting to take pictures at the start of the Shamrock Run in 2008 when a driver berated a teenage traffic volunteer because Naito was closed and he wanted to drive over the Hawthorne Bridge. (That time, a traffic policeman intervened and the driver left before getting a ticket.)

Finish line volunteers are champs too. Tearing tags for finish order - which is the standard at most races either for timing or as a back-up to chip timing - sounds fun and easy; but have you ever tried to rip the tag off a sweaty, hunched over runner why has pinned it to their shorts a little too close to their, um, private areas? When more than a few runners finishes together, it becomes a challenge to keep runners in order for accurate results and keep everyone moving. Besides taking care of these tasks, they have to keep an eye out for that finisher that look like they might regurgitate their pre-race breakfast!

After the runners have collected their finisher medals and had their fill of bananas and energy drink, volunteers still have a lot of work to do. Pack everything back up, handle lots and lots of trash, and leave the venue looking better than when they got there!

All of this work by volunteers makes races possible. Some events are able to compensate volunteers by letting them raise funds for a non-profit organization; Oregon Road Runners Club gives each volunteer at each of their events "ORRC bucks," which can be used towards ORRC race registrations, membership or merchandise. However, many smaller-town events aren't able to do that and rely 100% on the generosity of volunteers.

So next time you're at a race, whether it's letting a volunteer direct you to a parking spot, help you pick up your bib and race shirt, or stopping traffic for the participants, make sure you say thank you. And better yet, sign up to be a volunteer at a race this year. It'll make a huge difference to our running community.