Maria Romano has a new-found passion for running and can’t help but share that passion by volunteering with NYRR.
As a Race Buddy, Maria runs alongside NYRR youth programs runners during races for support. She also volunteers her time as an assistant coach to the Young Runners at IS 223K in Brooklyn.
“I remember one race where there were a lot of hills in the course,” Romano said. “I was really proud of the kids that day because they still finished strong even though most of them were just training on flat ground, and that’s a big difference.”
Romano loves to help out the kids and warns them that all different kinds of training are important if they’re going to do well in the races.
“Adults know what they have to do to train for a race,” Romano said. “But kids can think that they can just go out there and run. I like to teach them what the importance of the training is.” 
Romano, 54, didn’t start running until she was 51, but now she can’t get enough.
“I always weight-lifted and I always jumped rope,“ Romano said. “I thought since I jumped rope and lifted weights that I was in good shape, but I started to run and the running bug caught me and now I can’t stop. I’ve already run three marathons.”
 

Madelyn Carlson has found a way to combine her passion for running with her fondness for children by volunteering with the NYRR Youth and Community Services.
As a race buddy, Madelyn keeps pace with the kids as they are running in their own races. This is no problem for her, since she’s an avid runner herself.
“I’ve run a couple half marathons and the Boston Marathon,” Carlson said. “I’ve done a lot of volunteer work, including working with Meals on Wheels. I love working with children and I love running; this is a fantastic way to combine those two interests.”
In addition to her race buddy duties, Madelyn helps organize the events at the Youth Jamboree, where one of her favorite volunteering memories occurred.
“One time there were a couple kindergartners who wanted to run the relay,” Carlson said. “They needed a fourth kid, but they only had three. At the last minute we found a fourth kindergartner in the parents waiting area and it was really wonderful. One of the kids was running with the battalion like it was leading him to the finish line.”
 

When Ralph Walter volunteered at the finish line of the 1987 New York City Marathon, he was inspired to run it himself. "I was so caught up with the excitement of the event that in 1988 at the age of 53, I began training and ran the marathon for the first time—and I've run 19 more since then," says the Manhattan retiree. "The last nine marathons I've run as a member of Team for Kids, and I've raised over $30,000 for NYRR's Youth & Community Services programs," he boasts. "In 2011, I ran the race as a mentor to an out-of-town first-time marathoner."

Walter continues to serve at NYRR track and field events for kids, like Youth Jamborees. "My reward is being involved with the sport that I love," he says. "I enjoy the energy and professionalism of all the NYRR employees I work with." He adds, "As a retiree, I get energized by the work, and that makes me feel healthier and more productive. Plus, it's fun helping kids learn about my favorite sport."

A member of the Mercury Masters and a veteran of 14 New York City Marathons, Judith Som has volunteered at NYRR races for more than 30 years. "The team started an adopt-a-race program as a way to give back to NYRR and the community," she explains. The Mercury Masters are comprised of women aged 50 or older, and their philosophy, Som explains, is "If you want something to work, you need to pitch in and help." Every year, the team meets to select their two volunteer races. "We know volunteers are an integral part of every race," she says, "but we typically don’t pick team points races, because we all want to run those!"

Som and her teammates have just as much fun helping out at races as they do when they compete. "When you’re a runner, you know what people want to hear when they’re racing. Our group is very enthusiastic and vocal, and we all have a great time. We suffer with the same people we have fun with." She advises fellow runner/volunteers to "stop viewing it as an obligation,and get caught up in the fun of it." Someday, she'd like to see a volunteer T-shirt that reads: "If not you, who?”

Michael Printz first volunteered for NYRR at the New York City Marathon in 2001. "In the aftermath of 9/11, it was important to show the rest of the world that the race would go on as usual," he explains. Printz still enjoys serving; he supervises marshals at weekly races in Central Park and ushers runners from ferries to buses at the start of the ING New York City Marathon each year. "Here we are, the largest city in the country, and we have sensational trails and roads for every runner preparing for the marathon," he marvels.

When not volunteering, Printz runs the website focusgroups.com. "I'm not a runner—never was,” he says, “but I look forward to every NYRR event." He tells race marshals that they have "one and a half reasons to be there: The 'one' is to keep the track in order and reassure every runner that there are people watching over them in case anything goes wrong. The 'half' is to keep part of the roads free for cyclists, carriages, and emergency vehicles." Though their official title is "marshal," Printz encourages his crew to become cheerleaders, too. "Once, on the third lap of a race, a runner stopped and lifted a cheering marshal into the air! Then he put her down, kissed her, and ran off. I asked, 'Do you know him?' She answered, 'I've never seen him before!'"