Volunteers make Stromlo Running Festival possible — but what’s in it for them? Lots, it seems. Photo: Stromlo Running Festival.
When an injury sidelined Gretchen Smith from running in the Stromlo Running Festival, what was meant to be a workaround led to an annual highlight on the Canberra woman’s calendar.
It was March 2022 — a SRF makeup date due to a COVID postponement — and not wanting to miss the weekend entirely, she signed up as a volunteer.
“I figured if I couldn’t race, at least I could still be out there,” she said. “I loved it so much that I returned as a volunteer for the November event. I’ve been volunteering since.”
While volunteering across Australia post-pandemic has remained stubbornly low, Gretchen’s story is echoed across the SRF volunteer base, the majority of whom are repeat helpers.
For SRF director Mel Bingley, this divergence from the trend is as big a point of pride as the growth of the event itself — and it’s no accident.
“Our volunteers genuinely love it; they come back year after year,” she says.
“We know this is unusual in the volunteer space. Across sports and with our kids, it can be really hard to get enough volunteer manpower — people get fatigued, they struggle with so many competing demands on their time and energy.”
Mel attributes the anomaly in the volunteer space to three factors: a culture of appreciation and recognition, a flexible roster, and the atmosphere of the event itself.
“Without volunteers, you can’t run mass participation events,” she says.
“We recognise that they’re our VIPs and our MVPs, because as a core team, we can’t be everywhere. We can set expectations and put infrastructure in place to hold a good event, but we need them to bring the vibes, the safety, and to execute our plans.”
From the bump-in on Friday to the pack-down around lunchtime on Sunday, just over 100 volunteers filter in and out across the weekend event, fanning out across the course like sunlight spilling over the hills to fill a variety of roles.
“We could probably have a leaner roster, but the volume is a big part of our success,” Mel says.
“It means people can pick what they do and when they do it, and we’re not taking up their entire day.
“Everyone gets a t-shirt, each year they’re a different colour, and they’ve become a bit of a collector’s item. It’s a small, but meaningful token of appreciation.”
Stromlo Running Festival volunteers fill a variety of roles for various durations, allowing everyone to participate at their convenience.
Gretchen has taken on a range of SRF volunteer gigs over the past few years. As a course marshal, her job is to cheer people on and make sure they don’t take a wrong turn. She has also helped at pack down — a big job, she says, that gets “smashed out” quickly by many hands.
Her personal favourite, though, is operating the aid stations.
“That’s a lot of fun that one,” she says.
“On paper, we’re there to refill the runners’ water and give them electrolytes, gels and fruits if they need it — though that’s more common on the 30 km and the marathon events. Stromlo can get quite hot, too, so we sometimes shove ice into the runner’s packs to keep them cool.
“Really, though, we just hang out at the party line and cheer the runners on.”
Gretchen is already signed up for 2025.
“Everyone — the runners, organisers and volunteers — is so lovely. And it’s a joy to watch all the runners, from those who make it look super easy and are out there gunning for personal bests or places, to the back-of-the-packers getting it done,” she says.
“I do it for pure enjoyment. Cheering them on is such a nice way to spend a few hours of one weekend a year.”
SRF2025 will be held on 15 and 16 November. For more information and to join the volunteer team, visit Stromlo Running Festival.
