Fellow Amateurs...
It's that time of year again! The Pittsburgh marathon will run on May 5, 2024. Amateur Radio has been an important part of the marathon since the beginning, and your help is needed again for this year's event.
As in the past, we will be providing support to marathon medical staff. In keeping with the purpose of the Amateur Radio service, our main task is to provide emergency communications between the medical director and the various aid stations and other locations along the course, in the event regular communications channels fail. We also provide increased reliability for the most critical information and provide communications support to various medical officials. In order to accomplish this, we will staff many positions, including aid stations, shadows for medical officials, and others. To fully cover all of these positions, we are looking for around 100 volunteer amateur radio operators, including you!
If you're new to the hobby or have never participated in a public service event, please don't let that stop you from joining us. We have a variety of positions for new and experienced hams alike, and will provide you with the information and support you need. This is an excellent opportunity to gain the experience needed to help out during an emergency, all while having fun and doing a service to our community.
Volunteering online is quick and easy, using the marathon's official volunteer registation system. We are using a first-come, first-served system in which you can select your position when signing up. So, be sure to select the job you want when submitting your registration. If you're not sure where you want to be, that's OK; just select "General Locations", and we'll find a place for you.
Once you are registered, your assignment and detailed instructions will arrive in the mail in mid-April. Note that we will not be holding a meeting the day before the race; details on how to obtain your T-shirt and marathon credential will be contained in your assignment packet.
I look forward to seeing you on race day.