The Sport of Marathon Spectating

8/7/2013

Almost a year ago, I ran my first marathon - the Philadelphia Marathon. It was a an amazing day for me for so many reasons, but one of the biggest reasons was the friends and family that came to cheer me on. After all, without spectators, a marathon is just a run! Before the race, I analyzed the race route, checked road closures and did everything I could to help out the friends and family that wanted to watch - there was a ton of information available both from the Philadelphia Marathon website as well as other blogs and race recaps I found through Google searching. I even provided some friends with signs so that I knew what to look for - a big sign is a lot easier to spot in a crowd than one person. But even with all of the planning, I still missed seeing a group of friends at one particular spot. Since I've never spectated a marathon myself, I asked my friends to provide some tips and advice for those that want to see what this marathon thing is all about.

Good spectating takes a lot of map work before hand. You have to map out the course to figure out what roads are likely to be closed. This can be difficult, as side roads are often blocked a far distance from a main road (the police don't want you to drive five minutes down a road before you see it is closed, so they may block it several miles before the actual closed road). -Phil

Work out an estimated time to meet your runner. Ask your runner for an average pace that they're aiming for and allow for +/- 10 minutes at each spot. This allows for deviation from the estimated pace as well as time to get to the agreed meeting spot. -Josh

Don't make the finish one of your spectating spots. It takes a lot longer to get to than any other stop. Runners don't need encouragement in the last mile. They'd much prefer you to be at two stops earlier on than the one at the finish. -Phil

Make a sign! I didn’t realize how much of an impact it will have on the runners. I got tons of smiles as they ran by & I really felt it pushed them! -Kelly

***see below for some of my signs***

The Sport of Marathon Spectating - Sweat is Sezy

Kelly's sign!

The Sport of Marathon Spectating #redefinepossible

Anthony's sign

I generally try to find two to three places where I can see the runner. Turnarounds or places where runners cross their same path are great points. I also assume that it will take 10 minutes to park and walk to the course at every stop. Therefore, you have to space out the stops so that you can see the runner, walk back to the car, drive away to a road parallel to the course, drive on the parallel road, drive to the course, park, and walk. Because the runner is running in a straight line, I may have to drive three times further than the runner runs. With slow traffic and parking, it often means that I have to leave 45 minutes between stops (you need a lot of driving time at 25 mph to cover 2 to 3 times the distance of the runner plus the 10 minute park/ walk overhead). -Phil

When you get to your first spot, try to identify a unique runner every 5 minutes or so. That way on the later stops you can say to yourself "there goes the man in the dress, so in 5 minutes I should see the woman with the green hair, and it won't be long after that". -Phil

Bring a folding chair. There is lots of walking around and standing, so bring a chair that you can carry around if you want to sit. -Josh

Respect the course. It’s not fair to the runners if the spectators make the race crowded. Stay behind any barriers set up by race officials, and don't stand near any aid stations - the runners will be making a bee-line for those magical paper cups, and you don't want to get in their way. -Kelly

Get inspired! Marathon spectating proved to be both fun and motivating! It's great to be a part of the energy in an event of such magnitude. Seeing the physical/mental accomplishments of the runners is so inspiring - It makes me want to go out and achieve such a task! -Amee

Jerry, Amee & Maribeth

Ask your runner to sign up for chip-coordinated texts (if the race provides it). I LOVED how the marathon uses technology to help spectators follow their runners. Jillian’s (a.k.a. FitYaf) husband Anthony, was in charge of locating Jillian and we located her every time but once - timing is everything! -Kelly

Here are some pics of the signs I've made both for the Philly Marathon (November 2012) and the Pittsburgh Marathon (May 2013). As a runner, I LOVE a good sign. The "Beast Mode" and "Kim Kardashian" signs were fan favorites. On the Pittsburgh course, many people stopped to swipe the "on" button on the "Beast Mode" sign, and on the Philly course, a runner even stopped to take her picture with my husband holding the "Kim Kardashian" sign! [Just for the record - I watch the Kardashians and enjoy following their crazy lifestyle. Nothing against Kim or her marriage!]