Escorts to the Finish Line

I do my best to watch my husband cross the finish line at his races.

After his last race, we returned to the finish line hours later to watch the final runners. At that point, they were so spread out that the names of all finishers were called—until only one name was called when two runners crossed the finish line together. And again, when three runners crossed together. Why?

After watching carefully, we noticed that the unnamed runners waited by the finish line at the bottom of the hill before running to the top of the hill. After a while—sometimes short and sometimes long—they returned to the finish line with a new runner. Why?

Eventually, the announcer thanked the “pacers.” When runners struggled toward the end, at least one pacer was sent to escort them to the finish line. One 81-year-old crossed with three.

We wondered how many miles were logged by people running up the hill and beyond to help strangers achieve their goals. How many volunteers stood near the finish in order to call for help?