Volunteer Legends: Creswell Student-Volunteer Group Celebrates the End of an Era

Story by: Miles Dwyer / Photos by: Sydney Espinosa

EUGENE, Ore. — In a Dutch Bros. parking lot between miles 10 and 11 of the 2026 Eugene Marathon, two dozen high school students deliver water to nearly 10,000 participants in the marathon and half marathon.

Most of the city sleeps, and as thousands of determined runners from around the world embark on a race that is sure to test their minds and bodies, this group of teenagers from Creswell High School is up early to support them. At the students' feet, green Gatorade cups flow from trash cans like lava from a volcano. More cups, some stomped on, others half-full, litter the ground as the race course moves onward.

This parking lot has been this group’s home on race day for the last four Eugene Marathons. However, the volunteer group began the year before, in 2022, as a way to fund a party celebrating their eighth-grade graduation. Many of the kids enjoyed passing out water and connecting with the race so much that they decided to return the following year.

“It's so interactive, and it's so empowering to watch all of these runners coming through — all of the different people,” said Tiffany Thackara, the mother of a Creswell volunteer and one of the group's main organizers. “They get to know so many of the people from the community that they get to cheer on, which is really fun."

As runners make their way through the Creswell water station, some Creswell students shout “Water, while others shout “Gatorade,” each holding multiples of the corresponding beverage. Behind the kids, parents pour liquid from a stockpile of pitchers into seemingly endless rows of cups. Everyone’s efforts are met with appreciation from the runners, although the oxygen-strapped racers are often unable to verbalize their gratitude.

Despite the joy the kids feel from supporting Eugene’s most determined athletes, wrangling two dozen high school kids to a small, seemingly random parking lot at 6:30 a.m. on a Sunday in April is no easy task for the parents who help organize the group. Their strategy?: The promise of IHOP once the race is over.

“We’ll all go over to IHOP, and we’ll eat breakfast and celebrate,” said Maleki Stayton, Creswell’s Student Body President and one of the perennial volunteers. “The runners may be completing the mileage, but it is a task to give this many people water. The fact that we're able to set everything up, hand it out, and clean it up all within 4 hours, I think, is pretty impressive."

A belly full of pancakes isn’t the only thing these students walk away from the marathon with each year. While most of the kids aren’t serious runners, they draw inspiration from the perseverance and strength on display from their post on Franklin and Walnut Street, and take that inspiration into their own lives.

“You can see anybody out here,” said Stayton. “There are all different walks of life — from little kids, to adults, to even the elders. It does give motivation that anybody can come out here and just try it."

Like most volunteering opportunities, working the water station offers these students the opportunity to make a positive impact in their community. But unlike some other volunteer opportunities, hydrating thousands of runners allows the students to immediately see and feel the fruits of their labor.

"It's an opportunity to be able to give back, and to see how impactful that giving back is," said Thackara.

Most of the group started working on the marathon in 2022 as eighth-graders, or in 2023 as freshmen. Now, all but one of them are seniors and high school graduates-to-be, which makes 2026 the group’s last year running the Dutch Bros. water station. Many of the students are off to college in the fall, with some moving as far as North Carolina, and others staying home at the University of Oregon.

“It’s kind of bittersweet because we look forward to it every year,” said Elise Thackara, Creswell’s Senior Class President and Tiffany’s daughter. “I think it's the end of an era.

"At any high school, friend groups form, and there’s not always a lot of interaction between groups. This water station isn’t run by one friend group in particular. It’s instead made up of kids unified by a desire to give back and support their community.

"It's definitely sentimental,” said Stayton. “We’ve grown up with each other. It's kind of crazy to think all of us aren't going to be here next year.”

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This story is the first of two in the 2026 Volunteer Legends Series: highlighting volunteer groups or individuals who’ve shown legendary dedication and commitment over many years at the Eugene Marathon.