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Brainerd Area Amateur Radio Club  

Run for the Lakes Marathon aided by the BAARC on Saturday, April 26, 2008
The Brainerd Area Amateur Radio Club provided communications for the Run for the Lakes Marathon.  It is one of the few certified marathons in the State of Minnesota.  Interestingly, some runners used this event to attempt qualify for the Boston Marathon.   Proceeds will go to restoration of the Paul Bunyan and Aitkin Trail systems.

Marathon Web site address is http://www.runforthelakes.com

 
(l-r) BAARC ham operators John WØWY, Shirley KØDCW, Steve WØTNT, Roger WØWUG, Jim WØJDS, Terry KIØFW and Darrell ABØVP.  Thanks to Al WØRC who took the photo.
(l-r) Net Control operators Darrell ABØVP, Steve WØTNT, and Terry KIØFW.  Not shown is Shirley KØDCW, who also worked Net Control duties.
We had 6 inches of "Global Warming", 27 degree temperatures, and wind 20-30 MPH!  I was stationed at the 13.1 mile point (half way), Semmler Road where it crosses the Paul Bunyan Trail, doing radio communications with the club.  This was the same site were other volunteers with medical specialties and others handed water and juice to runners as they came by. Our site was lucky. One of the race volunteers brought his fish house, complete with propane heater.  Everything seemed to surprisingly well despite the horrible weather.  de Roger WØWUG

 

Shirley and I left home at 0532 Saturday morning amid heavy blowing snow and 27 degree temperatures. The roads from home to Pillager had not been plowed yet, but highway 210 had been plowed.  We were headed for Nisswa and the first Brainerd Jaycee's Marathon where they had over 450 people registered to run the marathon and half-marathon.  We arrived at the Nisswa Fire Station and had a pre-marathon meeting with the Marathon Coordinator Chris Nelson.  After the meeting we set up the club radio station in the main medical tent in front of the Nisswa Community Center.

Our mission was to provide Ham Radio communications between four other medical tents around the 26.2 mile course and the main medical tent. There were doctors, nurses, and first responders in the main medical tent and the other four tents to tend to the runners. A t race time there were 250 runners for the half marathon and 105 for the full marathon.

Darrell ABØVP and John WØWY were in the first medical tent, Roger WØWUG in the second tent, Steve WØTNT in the third tent and Jim WØJDS in tent number four. Shirley KØDCW and Terry KIØFW performed the net control duties. There were very few medical problems with the runners even though the weather continued to deteriorate through out the morning.

After all the runners had passed a medical tent, it was shut down so medical people and our operators could be reassigned.  Darrell ABØVP came to the main medical tent and assisted Terry KIØFW with net control duties until the race was over, about 1430 hours.

Thanks to all of our club members and operators that assisted with this first marathon. They plan on running this marathon again so it may be an event that we can provide communications for on a yearly basis. de Al WØRC

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This page was last updated 04/28/2008  Ø