so i passed my general back in march and joined my county ARES group maybe two months ago. been going to the monthly nets and the training sessions which have been really good actually. but next weekend theres a real activation, local marathon with about 800 runners and they want us to handle comms along the course.

my EC said its a pretty low-key event and good for new folks to get their feet wet but i still feel like im going to mess something up. like i know the basics of net discipline and how to pass traffic and all that but when its actually happening with real people depending on you it feels different than practice. im mostly worried about freezing up or missing a call or something dumb like that.

anyone been through their first activation and have any advice? im going to be at a water station about 2 miles from the finish line with one other ham who has way more experiance than me so at least theres that. just want to make sure im as ready as i can be

oh man i remember my first one, it was a 5k charity run and i was so nervous i basically triple checked my radio every five minutes before it started. honestly the best thing i can tell you is that having an experienced operator next to you is huge, just watch how they handle things and dont be afraid to let them take the lead on anything youre unsure about. nobody expects you to be perfect on your first activation.

the thing that helped me most was just writing down the net control callsign and the frequencies on a little notepad i kept in my pocket, basic stuff but when youre standing in the cold at 7am your brain does funny things. also make sure your radio is fully charged the night before and bring a spare battery if you have one. the actual event usually feels way less stressful than you think its going to once things get rolling, theres something about having a job to do that settles the nerves down pretty quick.

marathons are great for first activations honestly because the pace is pretty manageable and its not like a hurricane where everything is chaos. your main job at a water station is probably gonna be reporting runner numbers if someone goes down or needs medical, so just know how to give a clear position report and you'll be fine.

one thing i'd say is dont key up unless you have something to say, new folks sometimes feel like they need to check in constantly to prove theyre there. net control will poll the positions periodically, just answer when they call your station and stay off the air otherwise unless theres something to report. you got this.