Urgently Needed Assistance....Volunteers needed in Utica NY on Sunday July 12th, 2026
I'm forwarding you the information below on volunteering for the Boilermaker Road Race Ham Radio net. I don't know how familiar you may be with this activity so I'll give you a summary and invite your questions.
The Race Date is Sunday July 12th, 2026 with Volunteers Party on Monday, July 13th, 2026.
Basically, we run a directed net to support the health and safety of the runners during the race. Ham operators (licensed hams only) are stationed along the course, usually at water stations or with first aid personnel, but occasionally at other points to observe as well. If an operator sees a runner that seems to be in distress, he/she can alert the medical people at or near their location and work with them to communicate their needs to the net control (e.g. ambulance), golf cart/ 4 wheeler for transport if needed, and relay information. Net control is at the command center, so the communications goes to the necessary folks from there and will get relayed back to you. If the net control has an inquiry that an observer at a particular location may be able to answer, the operator may get a request. Often, those are questions about personnel at a location, where the end of the race is, etc. We don't use names on the air and refer to runners by "bib number" for privacy. This is an early morning activity and operators need to be at their assigned location along the course before 6:00 AM. All operators get credentials that identify them by name and a volunteer t-shirt to wear on race day. The race allows 2 1/2 hours for completion, and with a start time around 8:00AM, the activity will take a good part of the morning. Operators are released from their assignments when the last runner passes their post, so the actual amount of time required varies, but won't go any later than that.
You'll need a reliable dual band HT with sufficient batteries to cover the morning, note paper and a pen, sunscreen, water, and whatever snacks you need for the morning so that you can stay at your location. We cannot park vehicles on the course, so you'll need to be able to stand or sit along the course in a position that you can observe from. Full instructions on net operations, frequencies, times, locations, etc. will be provided before the race and we typically do a "practice net" prior to the race as well so you can check out your radio and get familiar with things.
The race also has a volunteer party on the Monday following the race at the Utica Memorial Auditorium that you'll get an invitation to. If you're interested in signing up, it volunteers for all aspects of the race must register electronically through the site RunSignup . Our group is Ham Radios, and when you sign up, the process will ask you to provide an e-mail and create a password as well as sign a waiver form. If you have any difficulties with the site, let me know. I can provide you with specific instructions.
We need to have signups as soon as possible, as t-shirt orders and credentials processing is going on now. If you are interested, please let me know of any questions you may have this week if you can.
We are still in need of more volunteers for the Boilermaker this year.
If you can assist - please contact Bob Decker ASAP.
Bob Decker tbd2626@yahoo.com
Bob Decker, Coordinator
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Fort Herkimer Amateur Radio Association, Inc info: https://www.fhara.net/
Race info: https://www.boilermaker.com/
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