Get in the best position – mile 3 may be right by your house but it’s not necessarily the part of the course where your runner will be most in need of support. Anything after half way is a good place to cheer. Look at the course map and see if there’s anywhere that the route loops back on itself giving you two opportunities to see your runner. Look out for areas where crowd support may be thin or where the scenery may be bleak. A cheer here would be appreciated. But remember to tell your runner where you’ll be to help them spot you and give them something to focus on when the going gets tough.
Get there early or get your elbows out – at big city races a lot of other people are going to be wanting to stand exactly where you want to stand. If your loved one is in a race with 20,000 other people and they each have at least two other people cheering them on, that’s a whole lot of crowd that all want to stand in front of you.
Get noticed – take a banner, take a balloon, take an amusing sign, take anything that will help your runner to spot you on the course. Trying to spot them will be hard enough so if they know to look out for a banana-shaped balloon it will make you twice as likely to see each other.
Get snacks and a book – so you’ve got to your spot early, but now you’ve got a good two hour wait before your runner goes past. You’ll probably get hungry and bored but you won’t want to risk losing your position. Do take some snacks just so you’re not tempted to eat all those jelly babies that your friend will have been thinking about for the past six miles.
Get it – most important of all is that you realise how much of a boost seeing you cheering them on will give your friend. Supporters are great. Knowing that there’s going to be a smiling, familiar face at the later stages of a marathon can keep a runner going for miles when they’re in real pain. So it’s important you don’t screw this up. If you said you’ll be there, try your hardest to make it. And of there’s even a 10% chance that you’ll decide that staying in bed on a Sunday morning is a better idea, don’t say you’ll be there.
Knowing that there is someone waiting for you at Mile X is the best cure for aching legs ever – good advice I’ll share with my team!
Great post, full of practical information for supporters. I’m going to send a link to this post to my marathon crew.
Thank you!
Great post, full of practical information for supporters. I’m going to send a link to this post to my marathon crew.
Thank you!
Thanks for the comments guys. Feel free to leave your own suggestions for what support crews need to know.
I would point out to make it clear you want the support. I just finished my first marathon (yeah me!) and told my husband I wanted to see him at more spots than just the finish line. By that point, I was done. That is good for them, not for me. So we talked point blank on how I wanted support in the race. He did fantastic. And every time I saw him and my girls, I got teary-eyed.
Jennifer – yes, don’t underestimate how emotional you may feel on seeing your loved ones. I always cry when I’ve seen my family, you need to reassure them that they’re ‘happy tears’!! so they’re not put off from popping up again!