It’s an annual tradition. I, along with my friends Sharon and her boyfriend Brian (not to be confused with Brian), do time at the Rock and Roll Marathon Health Expo. Sharon’s brother Sam is working with us for a second summer in a row. We handle all the late registrations Friday and Saturday before the big day (Sunday, June 3). My word of advice to anyone who participates in this kind of event is to REGISTER EARLY! $120 is the ultimate late registration fee, and it gets you a number for the race and admission to the Rock and Roll Marathon concert on Sunday night. This year’s headliner is Seal. Hopefully, concertgoers will get a glimpse of Mrs. Seal, AKA Heidi Klum.
The system for registering latecomers this year is extremely efficient. There are a few terminals where the runners fill out online forms with payment options at the bottom of the form. Credit card users get through the quickest while those who wish to pay with cash or a check must go to the cash registers, and that process has utterly been streamlined.
Sharon and her brother helped the registrants with the forms on the computers while Brian and I worked the cash registers. Most of the people coming through have been very cool, but I had a woman who absolutely wanted a discount on her registration when I have been instructed to make no exceptions. I explained this to her, but she was insistent, so I got the data manager, who had to step in and be the meanie. He wasn’t really mean in laying down the rules to her, but it sounded fun to say.
During my breaks, I had fun going through the expo. New Balance is one of the sponsors of the event, and they have some great deals during this weekend. Saucony also has some great prices. Too bad I didn’t get any.
Naturally, there are samples of health shakes, drinks, and energy bars. Some stuff is nastee (that spelling means it’s really bad) but I’m not mentioning brands. However, I couldn’t pass up Cliff Bars, Soy Joy, and Snickers Marathon. They were some of the tasty fare, though I have to make this note about Cliff’s: For a company that makes delicious energy bars, they make an utterly NASTEE energy paste.
It’s been a long day. I hung out with Brian and Sam for dinner after the Day 1 of the Expo was over (Sharon had dinner with old friends seen at the Expo). I had a malapropism moment when Brian was talking about corn and I thought he said porn.
It’s an earlier morning tomorrow at 8:00 am and another long day in the annual tradition.
