Receiving a free T-shirt is nice, but that’s not the reason 440 people are volunteering their Saturday this week for the 30th annual Ogden Newspapers 20K Classic, said Robert Scatterday, co-chairman of the event.

Scatterday’s volunteers are scheduled to pass out water, ice and Powerade to thousands of people competing in the 20K and 5K races on Saturday, May 27, in Wheeling.

While there may be some rookies at the stations, Scatterday said several people have volunteered every year for the past 30 years.

He said he admires the volunteers’ ‘‘willingness to give of themselves for others’ benefit.’’

‘‘Without them we wouldn’t have a race,’’ Scatterday said. ‘‘Giving is their way of receiving. By giving, they are getting personally rewarded.’’

Manning an aid station means more than just distributing needed fluids, he noted. The job also includes keeping an eye on racers’ well-being and encouraging them when the going gets tough.

‘‘We’re ministering to the walkers and runners. We’re giving them the total package — physical, health and mental. We are right there for them,’’ Scatterday said.

On race day, each aid station will look much like an assembly line as people work together to fill 18,000 cups with either ice, water or the powdered sports drink. Those distributing must announce loudly what they are holding, as the cups all look the same. Also, Scatterday said racers’ eyesight will be slightly fuzzy during the race, as most of their blood will be concentrated in their hard-working muscles.

Along the race routes, there will be 10 aid stations open during the 20K and one aid station open during the 5K, he said.