Strongman Triathlon

Tomorrow is the big day of tears triumph, and in my personal opinion, mild insanity. Literally thousands of people come to Miyako, a tiny subtropical island in Japan, to compete in the Strongman Triathlon. 3km swim, 152 km bike and a 42km run. The time limit is 14 hours and if you are even 1 minute late it counts as not finishing the race, which is pretty tough when you think about it. You have trained for 5months (at least) and you completed the distances but it's too bad, no certficate of completion for you!
However the island is buzzing and has been for a few weeks. The roads are lined with flowers and banners for loved ones and tomorrow there will be live music and shows along the bike and running routes. The brass band from one of my schools will be playing for 5 hours. Really the whole event is similar to an island wide party, including ambulances ready to pick up the people who collapse. No different from a student night out in Birmingham.
What's my role? I am volunteering. Which is kind of funny because I didnt actually volunteer. I arrived at school on friday afternoon (having been at a different school in the morning) only to be told my t-shirt badge and hat were in the staffroom waiting for me. After that it was a case of 'see you at the running track at 2.30 on sunday, enjoy your weekend' or at least whats left of it. However I don't really mind, the triathlon is a LOT of fun. and this way i will be guaranteed to see the people I want to cheer for along the way. It just interests me that although the Japanese have adopted the word volunteer, or should i say boluntia, into their vocabulary, something was miscommunicated along the way.