“Volunteers wanted!” A week before the start of the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii, a large advertisement in the local newspaper “West Hawaiian Today” indicates: There are not enough volunteers for the major event.
The lack of helpers is obviously a worldwide problem this year. Certainly due to the fact that the World Cup will be held over two days for the first time in Hawaii, on Thursday and Saturday of the coming week (October 6th/8th). 8,000 volunteers are needed this year, organizer Ironman is still looking for volunteers.
At the marathon, there is only an aid station every 1.6 miles
The first consequence of the lack of personnel: the supply stations along the way are being further spread out. Brad Culp, a columnist at Triathlete Magazine, tweeted what that means: “On the bike course, the aid stations will be every 10 miles instead of every seven miles as before. In the marathon, the distances have been increased from one mile to 1.6 miles. This will be especially tough for the slower athletes – and there are more of those than ever.”
