ShoreTurtle – Running in and around New Jersey

A guide to spectating races – a guest post by Redhead Fangirl

November 17th, 2008 Posted in General

Philly marathon week continues. I am very pleased to present a guest post by Redhead Fangirl.

A guide to spectating races

Shoreturtle has taught me to be a great spectator at races. He will often cheer for other runners while he is running the race himself, or after he has finished!

Marathon races of course draw the largest amount of spectators, so here’s my little tips from experience.

1. My biggest peeve- people who wait for hours but don’t cheer any runner other than who they are there to see. Cheer, clap, call out names, at least some of the time for ’strangers’.

2. Decide on a location before where you will be. Decide left or right side. Shoreturtle often maps out what miles to see him (at 2nd and Main, left side). He knows where I’ll be to catch him.

3. Don’t just expect a flag or balloons or signs to stand out—everyone has those for races! Shoreturtle’s mom had a Michigan flag on a long pole, that might be the only time it was easy to point out from a distance. You might be several people deep.

4. Personally, I wouldn’t rely on a phone call from the runner- it’s loud, hard to hear, and that’s pressure on them.

5. And the text messages from the race may not work- for Shoreturtle’s Chicago ‘07 I got only a few texts, long after all the splits…and..

6. You’ll have to do math. Know the pace of your runner (7 minute miles or something), expect delays at the start even if the race goes off at 8 AM, Have an idea when your runner will hit 5 miles.

7. The finish area is the hardest area to see anyone. It’s swamp city with people. In Philly, the corrals ran from the field to the steps, and it was hard to even meet up with my friends cheering Shoreturtle on. We walked far from the finish to get a front row look—and he was faster than we expected!—You might need to plan to meet the runner after they finish.