Picking up from last time –
So, we laid out all the cups. (There are even cardboard dividers so you can stack rows of cups on top of each other. I never noticed those before. Smart.)
As a runner, I never fully understood why water cups so often seemed to be overfilled. Now that I’ve worked at a water stop, I can understand. It’s hard when pouring quickly (from a jug that’s constantly changing weight) to try to get the exact right amount in.
And there seemed to be some disagreement as to what the right amount was. So, if people who work water stops think different things and if jugs can be hard to handle, then water is most likely just going to come out at all sorts of various levels. But I think we can deal with it. Right, runners?
(I know I’ll be a little less judge-y and more patient, now having been a pourer myself.)
When it came to the Gatorade, I asked what the most efficient was to pour that was. Someone said to mix the solution with water in the big tub (with the little spicket on the the end). Then, use that little spicket to fill up an empty water jug and go from there.
I didn’t think of any more efficient ways, and that didn’t seem too slow. But if any of you have amazing tips for doing that part faster, I’d love to hear them.
Once we got to the actual handing out part, I was holding the cup from the bottom. The lead guy at the water stop told me it’s easier to hand them out if I hold them from the top. So, I switched to the top-hold.
Even after spending a whole morning at a water stop, I can’t tell you the best way to hold the cup. Holding it from the bottom gives you more control, but I think it becomes harder for the runner to grab it.
Holding it with one finger inside the cup seems like a mess to me. For one thing, many runners don’t love when you have a finger in their cup. But more importantly, I find it much easier to hand off that way, since you have such a flimsy hold.
Holding it with your fingers coming down around the top is, I’m assuming, the best way since that’s what I was told – and it seemed like probably the best among the different ways I tried. But no ways seemed perfect.
Again, if you have advice on the best way to hold the cup, hit me!