There are several Leadership positions on Run For The Wall.
I suppose the most visible to all the riders as we traverse this great Nation is the Road Guard. He rolls past the pack to reach the front, points out slacking space in the groups of riders, checks for loose gear on bikes, condition of the bikes and riders and in general ushers the entire pack. There are several on each route, and they are methodically trained for their cross-country trek.
They wear Yellow Arm Bands that you get used to seeing form a long way off - in your bikes rear view mirror or way ahead alongside the highway exit with a flag directing the pack onto an off ramp. They zip past checking all riders, then move into a pack of their own awaiting instructions or ride out ahead and move to the next stop.
So many potential misunderstandings come along with the job. It almost always happens with new RFTW riders. They are in the wrong place at the wrong time - probably totally innocent, but maybe weren't listening in the morning riders' meeting ... and a Road Guard has to quickly and firmly get their attention. It happened to me - more than once. There are so many bikes, and so many instructions and it's hard to know who's lead to follow when you're in the middle of a pack of riders who are all waiting for instructions or guidance, and things get confusing quickly.
The reason I feature the Road Guards is because over the last 8 years, riding, volunteering, preparing for Run For The Wall and in Leadership posiitions, I know Run For The Wall would not be what it is today, a very organized, safe, methodical process of getting nearly 2000 people across this great Nation from California to Washington D.C. each year, if it weren't for the hard work and dedication of the Road Guards while we are on the road.
Russ arriving at a gas stop last year, the pack is coming in all the way to the horizon.
Communities greet us -
School Kids always doing something very moving to
let us know they've learned about what we are doing and why.
The behind the scene efforts of community volunteers, the State Coordinators who stake out the routes in their area and plan all stops assigned to them, the Route Coordinators who each oversee more than 100 volunteers per Route, and each of the Team Leaders, Assistants, all the way to the motel clerks and campgrond operators who host us each year, Run For The Wall has thousands of volunteers who get us across country, and being a Board Member, along with my husband being Route Coordinator last year and several other positions in the last several years, has taught me that each position has it's purpose. Run For The Wall is successful because of the passion our volunteers have for it's completion each year.
This year my hat is off to Road Guards, they play an integral role in getting us from point A to point B, over and over and over and over again, we know they get tired, and sometimes impatient and they also are not respected like they should be, but we love them, obey them and keep the murmuring to a minimum because we appreciate them - our Guardian Angels.
