Dear Volunteer,

Thank you for offering to help! Please share these instructions with all others on your team.

The locks on the C&O Canal Towpath are accessible from Clara Barton Parkway EASTBOUND. Spectators can watch from Lock 10, Lock 9, Lock 8, Lock 7, Lock 6, Lock 5 (no sign), and Chain Bridge.

DRIVING DIRECTIONS:

From Alexandria, get on I-395 south toward Springfield. Turn right onto I-495 north toward Maryland. Pass the exits for Braddock Road, Route 50, Route 7, I-66, Route 123, Route 193, and George Washington Memorial Parkway. Cross over Potomac River and stay right. Take Exit 41 right onto Clara Barton Parkway westbound to Carderock and the start / finish or eastbound towards DC and the aid stations.

Directions: From Maryland, take I-495 south to Exit 41, Clara Barton Parkway westbound or eastbound.

After you turn onto Clara Barton Parkway eastbound, you see signs for Lock 10, Lock 9, Lock 8, Lock 7, and Lock 6, but no sign for Lock 5 -- look for the spiral ramp over Clara Barton Parkway 0.4 miles east of Lock 6. At each lock, turn right into the small parking area.

SET-UP:

On the day before the race, the race director and associate director pre-position one table, two chair, six 5-gallon water jugs, 2 orange 5-gallon coolers, 1 tent, 4 gallons of Gatorade concentrate, (maybe one canister of Simone Super Energy,) 1 white plastic stir stick, food handling gloves, trash boxes, and trash bags at each aid station.

Thus the provisions you need are on-site on race day, except, please bring a bag of ice from your freezer in a Zip-loc bag or an ice chest. Please bring as much bagged ice as you can carry.

Optimally, each aid station has four volunteers.

Carry your provisions across the small wooden footbridge over the C&O Canal and set up on the margin of the Towpath, near the footbridge, but not obstructing the Towpath or the footbridge.

Please wear food-handling gloves at all times. Please pour 100 cups of water. Then mix a 1-gallon jug of Gatorade (1 part Gatorade + 4 parts water), and please pour 16 paper cups of Gatorade. If you have Simone Super Energy powder, please mix a small pitcher and pour 4 paper cups of mix.

Please set up trash boxes on both sides of your table, then also 10 meters, 20 meters, and 30 meters out on each side of your table.

HERE COME THE RUNNERS!

Your first runner comes by around 7:15 AM (Lock 5), 7:30 AM (Lock 7), 7:45 AM (Lock 10); and your last runner will come by around 12:30 PM (Lock 10), 1:00 PM (Lock 7), 1:30 PM (Lock 5).

TRIAGE INSTRUCTIONS:

In case of ANY runner who stops, call the race director at 703-927-4833. We have an emergency vehicle driving back and forth on Clara Barton Parkway so we can respond immediately to emergencies.

If a runner cannot continue but is uninjured, conscious, and lucid:

  • Ask, "are you OK?" and additional questions to establish lucidity
  • Ask permission to assist. If the runner grants permission, then ...
  • In all cases, render aid immediately. Rapidly-delivered first aid / CPR can save a life
  • In cases of severe injury or illness -- hypothermia (too cold), hyperthermia / heat exhaustion (just tired) / heat prostration (can't talk, can't move) / heat stroke (unconscious), a deep laceration, a puncture wound, an insect sting if the runner is allergic, a broken bone or a compound fracture, food poisoning or related illnesses (diarrhea, vomiting), shortness of breath, profuse sweating, pale skin, or highly flushed skin, call 911 immediately, assure the runner that help is on the way
  • Do not stop rendering aid until either you are relieved by another trained person or 911 help arrives
  • Get the runner off the Towpath and into a position where 911 emergency responders can wheel a stretcher to the person

    WEATHER-SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS:

  • On a cold day, provide fluids and warmth, and allow the runner to recover in the warmth of one of your cars
  • On a hot day, provide fluids and shade, allow the runner to recover in the shade inside one of your cars. Do not place ice on the person, but give the person a plastic bag full of ice, to be applied at will
  • If the runner does not grant permission, call 911 and report your emergency
  • In either case, do NOT allow the runner to continue
  • Call the race director, who will call the cruising vehicle to arrange transportation back to Carderock

    If a runner cannot continue but is injured, please wear gloves before handling.

  • Ask, "are you OK?" and additional questions to establish lucidity.
  • Ask permission before touching the runner in any way. If the runner grants permission, then perform necessary first aid. Wash any wounds, cover any wounds with bandages or gauze wrap from your first-aid kit, and use adhesive tape to secure the wrap.
  • In the case of a muscle strain, wrap the affected area to prevent further strain
  • Apply ice for a few minutes, then let up for a minute before re-applying, so you don't freeze the skin
  • If the runner does not grant permission, offer water and bandages so the runner can self-wrap and ice so the runner can self-treat
  • In some cases, after medical treatment, a runner may be able to get up and continue on. I have been feeled by foot blisters twice at marathons, then got up afer treatment and finished
  • Do NOT encourage injured runners to finish. If necessary, transport the runner back to Carderock or call the race director for evacuation.

  • In case of serious illness or loss of consciousness, consent to treament is implied. Call 911 immediately.
  • Then provide first aid as above if you are certified or if you feel protected by Maryland's Good Samaritan Law.

    Thank you for serving.

    Please call me with any questions.

    Thank you so much for your help!

    Jay Jacob Wind, director

    Safety And Health Foundation, Inc.

    703-927-4833