If you’ve never stood by the side of a marathon and clapped and cheered as runners made their way past, you really should.

There’s two kinds of reaction that you can have standing up close and personal with marathoners on race day:

“Oh my, these people are amazing, I don’t know how they do it. I could never do that.”

Or

“This is amazing. I want me some of that.”

I had 10 miles to run on Sunday so I ate my porridge while watching the elite women’s race get underway, then I packed my sign and a change of t-shirt in my backpack and ran into central London.

My route took me past the finish and then I traced the route backwards through Parliament Square towards the Embankment. The men’s wheelchair race came past me and I clapped as they sped past.

The route was already lined with a thick layer of people waiting for runners. Steel bands played, cheerleaders shook their pompoms and more crowds gathered. At mile 24.5 I reached my cheer point and slipped into the crowd to wait for the women’s elite.

Seeing the elite runners come past is amazing in itself – the way they make it look so graceful and effortless. But the speed that they shoot past is unreal.

And then gradually, a few at a time at first, the mass race comes past. The first trickle of runners grows in numbers until a river of people is flowing past. People of all shapes and sizes just running.

Whether you want to join them or just stare at them in awe, you can’t help but be moved my the spectacle.

Whether it’s London or a race near you, go out and cheer on some strangers that are doing something remarkable this year. Tell them how awesome they are – I’ll bet it makes you feel as good to stand there and shout as it will for them to hear your cheers.