2024 Volunteering Opportunities Launched
If you’ve ever seen one of our Run 4 Wales events, there’s no doubt you’ll have noticed the smiling faces and electric atmosphere around the courses. It’s a fantastic experience to be a part of, but what many don’t realise, is that you don’t need to run to participate.
The Run 4 Wales event calendar is now live for 2024, which means there are so many volunteering opportunities to get involved with.
Excitement is already building among the R4W race volunteer team, aka the Extra Milers, and there is still space for people to join in and be part of the buzz.
All the events are listed on the R4W volunteer portal but if you’re not registered as a race volunteer yet, don’t worry. It only takes a few minutes to create a profile to allow you to see all the events and volunteer opportunities available.
You can also follow our Extra Milers Facebook and X (formally Twitter) pages for all the latest event and volunteering news.
Tor Hands, Run 4 Wales Volunteer Coordinator, said: “Our team of Extra Milers are invaluable and help make our events what they are. As well as helping to create buzz and excitement for the runners on the day, we find our volunteers get so much from the experience too, which is why they come back to take part time and again. Some of our Extra Milers have been part of the R4W family for over ten years! Not only do they love the feeling of giving something back to their community, but it’s a chance to make new friends, have a new experience and help improve mental wellbeing.”
But don’t just take our word for it, here’s what others have had to say:
“The volunteers are things we don’t pay for and seem to be the best thing about the race” – ABP Newport Marathon 2023 runner
“The camaraderie among the Extra Miler team I was with was amazing despite only meeting on the day” – CB10K 2023 volunteer
“The event was such a positive and enjoyable experience for me. Volunteers are generously well provided for and valued. I felt proud wearing the Extra Milers T-shirt” – Barry Island 10K 2023 volunteer
The 2024 event calendar
2024 kicks off with the ABP Newport Wales Marathon, Half and 10K. The event on Sunday 28th April has a brand-new route as well as an exciting addition of a half marathon option. We’ll be inviting over 250 volunteers to provide support at the start-finish line, the route water points as well as in the bag drop tent or as course marshals.
On Sunday 19th May the Brecon Carreg Cardiff Bay 10K returns to Roald Dahl Plass offering runners a stunning route around iconic Cardiff landmarks including the Barrage, the Norwegian Church and the Senedd. We’re looking for 150 volunteers to support event day, in the usual event volunteer roles at the runners bag drop, the midway water station, helping at the start-finish line and as course marshals along the route.
Later in the year Extra Milers can look forward to a seaside adventure at the Ogi Porthcawl 10K on Sunday 7th July and the second edition of the R4W CDF 10K in Cardiff on Sunday 1st September.
The event season then comes to a close with our biggest event of the year – the Principality Cardiff Half Marathon weekend. Attracting around 27,000 runners we offer two opportunities to volunteer at the Half. On Saturday 5th October the Cardiff Half Junior races take place, starting and finishing at City Hall, followed by the main event on Sunday 6th October. We’ll be looking for up to 800 enthusiastic Extra Milers to support runners across the weekend.
As always, race volunteers receive a t-shirt and bag as part of their volunteering kit, along with snacks and a lunch pack. We issue Tempo Time Credits every time you volunteer with us (find out more about this national volunteer reward scheme here) and a 10% discount in the Run 4 Wales online merchandise store. As part of the Extra Milers community, volunteers also get access to fun competitions and giveaways, including free R4W race entries, shopping gift vouchers, race merchandise bundles and delicious Welsh food hampers!
Groups are welcome to volunteer too. We were excited to have support from over 25 groups in 2023, including the Cardiff Police Young Volunteers, She Runs: Cardiff, Newport Social Cycling, Caldicot Runners, Girlguiding Cymru, Bridgend District Explorer Scouts and Cardiff University Athletics Club, among many others. The Cardiff Police Youth Volunteers told us more about why they volunteer and what it means to them to be involved in race day.
We also offer corporate volunteering days, so if your place of work has paid volunteering days or organises team building days then please get in touch. Our most recent corporate volunteer group, the Principality Building Society employee volunteers had a great time at Penarth Road water station rehydrating and cheering on the 2023 Cardiff Half runners!
Still not sure why you should volunteer with Run 4 Wales? Check out our blog post Reasons to get Involved with Sport Volunteering.
So, what are you waiting for? Head over to our volunteer portal and sign up to be an Extra Miler.
You can also email volunteers@run4wales.org for more information, if you’d like to volunteer as a group or if you’d like to know more about our corporate volunteering opportunities.
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