Photo by Doug Koontz Mary Jo Richmond, an unpaid Volunteer Coordinator for the Frederick Marathon, checks in a racer Saturday afternoon at Harry Grove Stadium.

Mary Jo Richmond is this year's volunteer coordinator. She's had the job the past three years, and said each year gets easier.

Richmond, of Monrovia , makes sure the registration booths, the water stations and the finish line have plenty of volunteers. Local organizations have taken over most of the water stations, making her job much easier.

School groups, Fort Detrick and United Way are some of the organizations that will hand drinks and snacks to runners as they pass. She has asked for 15 people at every water stop.

Fifteen volunteers are needed at the first few stops, when runners will be closer together. As the faster runners pull away, the aid stations become less crowded.

The first aid station, at the two-mile point, will be open for a half hour, because by then the last runner will have passed. The last aid station will open two and a half hours into the race, and shut down two and a half hours later.

The race starts at 7:30 a.m. today and volunteers at the registration booths at Harry Grove Stadium will be in place by 5:45 a.m. Lori Ferrell, who has volunteered for all five Frederick Marathons, will be there.

"It's a fun weekend," she said. "I've done a little bit of everything."

Ferrell said she meets interesting people when she volunteers. After she finishes at the registration booth this morning, she'll watch the race start and then go back to help set up snacks for the finish line.

Doug Terwilliger has also volunteered for all five Frederick Marathons.

"I wanted to run but too many things got in the way," he said.

He served as a course marshal in 2003, keeping the route clear of the unexpected snow that fell during the race. The second year, he gave out water when water became a hot commodity because of the day's humidity.

This year he will start at the first aid station and bike to the mile-12 station when the first one shuts down. He tells other volunteers they'll get splashed with water or Gatorade, even though the cups are half full and the volunteers pinch the tops when they hand the cups to runners.

Terwilliger also makes sure there's a cleanup crew to pick up the cups dumped by the runners. He said the stations place two trash cans out for the cups, but the runners usually have poor aim.

He plans to run the marathon in five years, when his oldest son is 15. By then, he figures, he'll have enough time to train.

Richmond, a media specialist at Middletown High School, said she will take part in the 5K race Saturday night.

She took on the job of volunteer coordinator after meeting John Kippen, owner of If the Shoe Fits, a local store that sells running gear. She was interested because her husband once ran marathons and asked if there was anything she could do.

"It's a good fit for me," she said. "The marathon gives monetary donations to nonprofit groups in the area."

Most of her work is coordinating people for the registration. Marathon organizers order all the supplies. This will be her last year as volunteer coordinator, but she will still help, however, probably at the finish line.

"I'd like to see the race," she said.