Among the 1,800 volunteers at the Olympic Trials, Joseph Calbreath@@http://www.kmtr.com/content/biographies/story/Joseph-Calbreath/AYP2QJzFokim7duVIlU6dw.cspx@@ and his wife Catherine are a couple of veterans.
The Calbreaths have been volunteering their time for the Olympic Trials since 2008, but have volunteered at other track events for the past 20 years.
They first got their start when their son was in junior high. The Calbreaths volunteered at anything their children participated in, but it was track that the two continued to do after their children were out of school.
“We liked track, so we just kept doing track,” Calbreath said.
The Calbreaths’ favorite track events are the distance runs. As long as it’s over a mile, they two love to watch the different races. They find that the sprints are over too quickly.
“You don’t get to appreciate the race,” Calbreath said.
Calbreath became certified to officiate track meets in 1996. In 2007, both Calbreath and his wife became members of USATF, specifically for the Olympic Trials. Although it is not a requirement, it is preferred if you are a member of the USATF to volunteer at the Olympic Trials. The two decided to volunteer for the Olympic Trials because of their love for the sport.
“It looked like fun,” Calbreath’s wife said.
Calbreath said that they also figured out that there were extra benefits to volunteering.
“You get in free,” Calbreath said. “And you get to see behind the scenes.”
It was Calbreath’s wife that got them into the basket running. Basket runners make sure that the athletes personal belongings are taken from the starting line to the finish line for the athletes. Calbreath’s wife thought she would like that job because it allowed for her to keep moving instead of staying in one spot. The couple first started basket running in the Butte to Butte run in Eugene and just kind of fell into a niche.
When they decided to volunteer for the 2008 Olympic Trials, the Calbreaths decided to continue on with basket running. After asking an old friend of theirs if they could be a part of his crew, the two were accepted. After the 2008 Trials, the leader of the basket crew quit, leaving the Calbreaths in charge. The Calbreaths, never being in charge before, had to figure a lot of it out on their own. Calbreath said that they had a steep learning curve.@@show don’t tell. There has to be an interesting story here.@@
Despite any problems or difficulties that the Calbreaths encountered, basket running remains to be their favorite volunteer job.
“We get to be at the start of every race,” Calbreath said. “We get to see the athletes.”