Centurion offer free entry to races with volunteering (subject to total hours)

If you like running. If you like helping others. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire the A-Team.

Because as a runner, there is nothing better than arriving at an aid station, when you’re hot, tired, maybe frustrated, and there’s someone there who understands, is quick to help, and encourages you on. They’re fleeting angels in your long day, but they’re there for everyone all day. It’s the same smiles, the same eagerness to help, and the same kindness for when plans aren’t going as expected.

They’re there to mark the course, and they do it again to be sure. They set-up and man the aid-stations all day. They serve you food and drink. They encourage you on and understand your woes. And they welcome you to the finish line with cheers and whoops. And then whilst you rest, they sweep the course for markers, rubbish, and lost runners. They pack down the aid stations, tidy food away, and load vehicles. And then even the next day they continue to sweep the course to remove any trace that we were there. And they do this as volunteers, either as experienced runners knowingly giving back because they’ve been there, or as maybe runners looking for a glimpse of what it might take to run an ultra.

Running an event provides me with a tremendous amount of satisfaction, but the medals don’t quite cut it as they once did. Having completed 9 NDW50 events they are slowly merging into one single memory. But having recently been able to volunteer twice in only a few months in 2024, with more in the coming months, and having done so a few times over the years, I now wonder whether the most you can get from a run is to be behind the scenes helping others.

If you want to volunteer for Centurion, even if you’re not a runner, then you can do so from the Centurion Running Volunteer page.

If you are a runner, and especially if you’ve run a Centurion event before, then I’d urge you to commit to volunteering for an event. It’s a sacrifice that’s rewarded with a day spent helping others achieve their adventures, which certainly leaves me feeling inspired and encouraged.

It also helps that they offer free spaces for events in the following calendar year.

Hope this helps.