Outside of contributing to Mozilla, I am a volunteer with London Marathon Events, something that I have understandably not been able to do recently. It was therefore really exciting to be back on the streets of London for the Big Half, a half marathon that covers part of the famous London Marathon route, but in reverse.

My role on the day is a Deputy Sector Manager, looking after roughly three miles of the route with 60 volunteers and reporting to the Sector Manager so I have a fair bit of responsibility on the day. That the event is run on the streets of London brings added focus as well, both in making sure that the event is a success and that it is safe for the participants, spectators, and the volunteers under me.

Above me in the structure is a Sector Manager, and I was fortunate to work with someone I have worked with before. That teamwork on the day is crucial, they need to have confidence in me and I need to be able to escalate issues up. We need to be able to split the work covering the sector and communicate about any issues that we are resolving. We also need to make friends with the volunteers working for us in our area fast, to build a sense of team with a shared goal for the day.

The day itself went really well, and given that it normally takes place towards the start of the year, to be doing it in warmer weather made a nice change. Under the circumstances, the reduced spectator volumes were a good thing, but it was great to see so many people that have been trapped indoors for so long getting out and running to meet personal and charitable goals. My day was made up of making sure people got medical attention, resolving vehicle movements, and making sure that participants, supporters, and volunteers had a good safe day. 

It was busy and hard work, constantly reassessing priorities and communicating with a range of people, but with over a year since my last event, it was great to be back.