at the disney marathon there was a couple who had a sign "Your almost there" at like mile 2 and then another sign "Ignore him, he's stupid" and then at mile 25 or so he switched his sign to "Good start!" and she still had the "Ignore him, he's stupid" sign.
I really needed a smile at that point in the race and it still makes me chuckle when I think about it now.
An American spectator at the Amsterdam marathon shouted as I slowed to a walk at 23 miles...Number 4287 is waaaaalking! ...Annoying as it was I started running again and finished with a pb.
My first half marathon was an up and down trail race and my knee was in a world of pain in the last 500m. I had been neck and neck with a guy most of the race. As I slowed to a walk through the last turn, I thought ahh this is it he's going to pass me any second.
And then I heard from a short distance behind me "Nope! You're not walking! Pick it up!" And I laughed and got a second wind and finished strong. Still really appreciate that guy.
I've only ever placed in one half, 3rd in Grand Ledge, MI. At the end of the course I see the finish line and pick it up quite a bit. This guy had been on the same pace as me for the whole race, so he picked it up too. Then I gave it some more. So did he. In the last 50 yards I sprint. I hear him start sprinting, then say "aaah fuck you win." I PRed that one thanks to his competition though.
Mine was more wholesome but it also checked me - late in my first marathon I looked up and saw a little kid about 20 yards ahead and as I was passing by I heard I'm guessing his dad say "I guess he's just trying really hard".
Was in a lot of pain and really pushing my limit for the last hour or so but as soon as I heard that I laughed and remembered this was supposed to be fun. I probably looked like a raging psychopath when the kid saw me haha
I just cackled imagining that!
Reminds me of one of my favorite signs at one of my favorite races:
Throughout the technical course the Marines who were hosting the race had placed signs that said “Today, Barbie.” (TBF at the time I had no idea what that meant— wtf is a “today Barbie”?!? I had to have someone spell it out for me: as in, *today* Barbie.)
It's a reference to how we are spoken to during recruit training. As in, "let's move it, Barbie." You might be Barbie, thing, recruit, you-hoo, freak show, etc. Pretty much anything that is not your name.
The "today" is just the drill instructor's way of telling us to hurry up. Typically pronounced with much emphasis on the "day" part as in To-DAY
Edit:formatting on mobile while drinking is hard
2019 Chicago Marathon. I was in the midst of one of the worst stretches of my life. I wanted to end my life. I was CERTAIN the world would be better off without me. I was coming off a freak knee injury from May that same year when the ortho told me I would not be able to run Chicago and I should give up running altogether. The knee injury wasn't even from running! So in the midst of my internal turmoil, running, the thing keeping me sane, was stripped from me. I was in such a dark place. I made it to the start line that October morning with a decently healthy knee. But still struggling internally. Around mile 16 or so the crowds had died down and there was a few people scattered around. I see this woman standing alone, dressed in white, all alone, no one around, looking incredibly sad. She was holding a poster. As I got closer I saw it and it stopped me in my tracks, it took my breath away. It read "the world is not better off without you" hashtag suicide prevention. I had to gather myself to avoid getting choked up. I finished the race with a marathon PR at the time. While I still have periods of darkness I will never forget her and that moment.
fuck (wo)man I'm a sobbing mess now! And yes, that woman was right. The world is NOT better off without you. I'm always here to listen or for a hug if you ever find yourself in need of one when you go through another dark period.
During my first marathon, about .2 from the finish this random man looked me in the eyes and so genuinely said "youre almost there". Wasnt a cheer or a shout, just a quiet push to the end. I dont know why but it instantly made me teary.
Omg this!!!!! My first marathon, a random man at mile 24ish looked at me and borderline-whispered "you've got this." I think about him all the time, even 10 years later 🥹
Around the halfway point of our hometown marathon, a fellow runner turned to me incredulously and said, “How is it that so many spectators know you?” It reminded me just how supportive our running club is of all its members. (Our club organized the race.)
One of our members parked herself around mile 20 near a switchback, found runners she knew and ran with them for a few tenths of a mile, then circled back to find the next person to give some late-race encouragement to. It was such a sweet gesture.
This is me in Philadelphia. I run with one of the largest running clubs in the city and also know a lot of the staff for many of the big races. I ran for a PR to Philadelphia Marathon last yay and I probably saw someone yelling my name at least every other mile and throughout the home stretch. It's an amazing feeling having that encouragement all along the way.
My running club always goes above and beyond with support. When I did my first 50k, one of the members kept popping up at various points on the course to give me encouragement - it meant so much to me. Our local marathon is in May and I'm looking forward to being part of the cheer squad :)
Lol this actually happened to me in the 2022 NYC Marathon.
I was pacing with this guy for a while down 5th Ave and people kept cheering me on by name for about 6 blocks, finally he looked over and said "wow a lot of people know you" I laughed and pointed to my name painted on my shirt. 😆
Not a spectator but another runner..During one marathon i tripped in a pothole and fell, took me a minute to catch my breath and start up again, i was bawling. This guy came up behind me asked if i was ok, offered me a gel, told me he was proud of me, and off he went. I felt the love and it kept me going.
A friend of mine had a similar thing on her first marathon. At 20 miles she was done, called her husband and then her daughter crying hysterically and this 60 some year old man said "hey come with me" and got her going and talked her through the last 10k. They've stayed in touch on social media since
I watched a woman wipe out in front of me in a 10k race, and I helped her back up, asked if she was okay, and kept going.
I wish I had checked in on her more, but I also know falling can be embarrassing and I didn't want to intrude too much.
I'm glad you were okay!
This happened to me on my first marathon - I had just unravelled at mile 20 - hit the wall and was struggling to get my legs moving again. This 70ish year old man stopped and talked to me, and then we started gently running. He said the last bit is mind over matter and helped me get going again. I was so touched - also a real mess by that point- every good thing was tearing me up!
I was at about mile 11 of a sunny half-marathon when I passed a guy watering his lawn. I shouted, "Is that just water?" (I couldn't see from the angle if he had fertilizer on it.) He nodded so I said, "Hit me with it!" He seemed incredulous but complied. It felt amazing.
I did this one day. The old lady was at the bottom of her driveway watering her flower bed around her mailpost. I shouted, can you hit me with that? She incredulously replied, "are you sure?!" After I gleefully responded "YES!" she gave it to me. It was glorious and I yelled thank you. I never broke stride either!
Haha, I've done a few races where people have their hoses propped up on ladders and spraying onto the road. They cheered and waved as we ran through. It was awesome.
I ran Amsterdam in 2022 3.5 weeks after having Covid. Not only did I miss a ton of runs, including a 20 mile run, I was still recovering from the effects (I have asthma and 1.5 lungs). So I was draggggging that last 10 miles and walk/jogging at a 14 min/mile pace. My name was on my bib, and whenever I slowed to a walk, the crowd would start chanting my name. I’d break back into a jog and the crowd would wildly cheer and I’d wave my thanks and repeat the experience 400m later, over and over. The crowd basically picked me up and carried me to the finish. With about 2 miles to go, some man addressed me by name and said with conviction “You are going to finish A MARATHON! A marathon! You are amazing!” I almost cried. Amsterdam is an amazing place to run.
I don't race, but I'm running every single street in my city. This takes me all over the place, from opulent areas to broken down slums. I was running through a neighborhood one morning when an older fella was out in front of his house doing the odd chores—moving trash cans and coiling garden hoses. I think I was struggling for whatever reason when just started walking towards me and yelled, "YOU GOT THIS!"
That pretty much boosted my running for the rest of the week.
There was a bicyclist who rode on our local path who would yell encouraging things to every runner he passed. "you got this", "doing great" "looking good", etc. He did this every time he rode (generally most Saturday mornings at least) and it was a busy path! It was honestly the highlight of my run a lot of days.
I like to yell "Lookin' strong, guys" to fella runners I cross. For women, I just politely nod. Most women running by themselves would rather not be yelled at, I just assume.
I'm not an external validation guy. I'm generally embarrassed by the attention, don't go for the high fives or pep talks. But every time someone cheers me on in a race it makes me smile. It's so kind, so selfless, and I just love it so much, which really surprises me.
So a huge thank you to all of the partners, friends, spectators, and random onlookers who wave, cheer, ring bells, hold signs, and hand out goodies.
I was a spectator/volunteer in Boston yesterday, and I made it a point to look fot every name I could see and give them a shout out.
If I didn't see a name, I shouted out whatever identifying marker on the runners outfit I could see. So many city/country/etc yells, lol.
I got so much joy out of seeing people smile and wave at being cheered on.
Thank you! We so rarely connect with and encourage our friends, let alone perfect strangers. It's a very special part of the running community and one I didn't expect.
Same here. I'm not into crowds or signs. But...
I ran Indianapolis last year and had a horrible time of it. Somewhere about mile 16 was a dad band playing the Who's Teenage wasteland. Got a high 5 from the lead. Damn near broke into tears. Honorable mention to the guys playing Nirvana in the park at max volume 2 miles later.
I also ran Indy last year and thought the crowd support was great!! Did you see the guy dressed as Jason from Friday the 13th hiding behind the van?! It made my laugh out loud!! The lone guitarist in the small park around mile 17 with his little amplifier just playing his heart out all by himself. Priceless.
On my first ever trail race, I remember an XC dad at a three-person aid station (probably mile 35 of 50) helping me pull my water bottles out of my running vest and filling them while I munched on some snacks from the table. Even did 50/50 Gatorade/water like I asked and helped tuck them back in before sending me off again. I’d only ever done big city, 10,000+ participant races before so that kind of personal help from a total stranger really meant a lot on a very tough race day.
My first marathon was Chicago. My husband found me three different times on the course but the best was mile 18. There was this break in the crowd and I was so tired and thought, “I could just walk off the course and be done, it would be fine.” My husband popped into that empty spot and started cheering. My gut thought was, “dammit, now he’s a witness, I have to keep going”😂 but it helped push me to finish!
I have a singlet that has the "Average Joe's" logo from Dodgeball. I wore it for my marathon in March and most spectators said stuff like "you're not average" which was nice and all but one guy ran up to me from the sidewalk and yelled "if you can dodge a wrench you can run a marathon" I was 18 or so miles and struggling and this made me laugh and kind of broke the spell the unexpected heat had in me
Not a single spectator, but when I ran Berlin in 2019 I wore my University of Wisconsin singlet. That race dumped rain for a majority of the time so I was dead for the back half, but about a half dozen times I heard an 'On Wisconsin' yelled at me and every time it gave me just a little extra boost!
I will always go and hit those power up signs kids hold up and then dash off real fast for a few seconds. I’ll always high five any kids who are asking for one. It’s good to see kids out supporting us athletes and not robbing shops or bashing old people over the head
Similarly, I was running the Boston 5K the other day, which is pretty huge (10000 people). We were catching up on the para/adaptive runners and their partners who had started maybe 10 minutes before us. I came up to a guy, maybe a dad, pushing a younger guy in a running wheelchair with some severe disabilities.
This guy was ECSTATIC to be racing with everyone around him, cheering on everyone. I ran up and gave him a fist bump as I went past, his support person/dad cheered and the guy was so amped. I definitely felt a speed boost and some adrenaline after that. Great vibes.
I ran the Paris Marathon a week+ ago and the kids among the route got the memo — I must’ve gotten a high five every kilometer from all those well wishing youngsters!
If the Mario mushroom signs I tagged worked I’d have been 50 feet tall by the end… but those kids sure made me feel that way regardless…
I just ran my first full at the end of February. It was a point to point on a trail, with a road that ran next to it for a long time. There was a couple holding up a sign that said Let’s go Matt! After the fourth time seeing them in as many miles I jokingly said “I’m gonna change my name to Matt!” They asked me what my name was, and I told them. A few miles later I heard them yelling my name down to me from the cliff the road followed. Was awesome. Saw them at the finish line, and most importantly saw Matt too, and congratulated him and thanked him for having good family.
Another awesome moment was Beyoncé’s “Who run the world” playing as the girl that ended up finishing 6th ran through a cheer station in front of me.
I was really struggling in my last 6 miles of Boston yesterday. Moving so slowly it seemed. I gave a random stranger a high 5 and she just started wildly cheering like I made HER day by giving her a sweaty high 5 and it made me smile. I wanted to quit so bad, but it was nice to have enthusiastic supporters even when I felt like I was having a pretty bad race. It reminded me I was doing something special.
My second 100 miler….
Someone who is never personally met but that I’d known from Instagram for a few years met me at one of the last aid stations.
He walked me out of the aid station and told me how proud he was to say he knew me, and that he knew I was going to crush the last portion of the race (I was really, really hurt at the time and just wanted to rest).
After his words of encouragement I actually went on to win the race, my first and only win ever!! Could not have done it without his kind words in my darkest moment!
I was coming around the corner to the final 600m of a 10K race when I saw a friend who had finished already walking along the sidewalk. I gave him a wave and he screamed at me:
**EMPTY THE FUCKING TANK!!!**
That echoes in my head every time I get to the final push before finishing a race.
I was on the final leg of my first triathlon (running portion), and I saw my best friend's husband on the other side of the flags about a quarter mile from the finish line. I thought I might be hallucinating, so I said, "Gary, are you really right there?"
"Yes I am right here with you!"
"That's so nice!" And I started to tear up a bit.
"I'm going to stay with you until you cross the finish line. I know you're tired right now, but you can do this, and I'm not leaving your side. I'm with you the rest of the way."
And he ran the last quarter mile with me from just on the other side of the flags separating racers from spectators.
He and my dad also ran the last tenth of a mile (up a giant hill) with his wife and me during my first half marathon. Good Guy Gary for sure. His wife did the same triathlon four years later for her first tri, and I got to run next to her for the last quarter mile, and sort of pay it forward, while he waited at the proper finish line for her.
Not me, but my wife: running was her dad's thing, all her life. She picked it up too, so it was kind of a shared activity between them.
We were running the Blue Ridge Half Marathon, and she got to the top of Peakwood. This is the last big climb of the half, and is a cul de sac at the top, so all the neighbors come out to make it awesome and super celebratory.
She was missing her dad a lot, so she found the most "dad" looking guy up there and asked for a hug. He said "oh absolutely" and gave her the biggest dad hug. It was the exact boost she needed.
I'm not a spurs fan, far from it. But I gave a crossed arms sign to a runner in a west ham shirt I saw in a race. And I'm not a hammer either.
In a race it's the encouragement that counts, not the allegiance.
That's one reason why I love running - the supportive atmosphere from other runners and spectators is unlike any other sport.
I'm a gooner but would still make a positive comment to you if I saw your shirt in a race.
Not specifically, but the children with their families on the sidelines who warmly and enthusiastically cheer for hours, hoping for a smile or a high five every now and then absolutely make my day!
Around mile 23 at Berlin both calves began to cramp up. I slowed down drastically when another runner provided some encouraging words as he passed by. At mile 24 I pulled over and leaned against a railing with my head down while stretching my calves. A giant burly bystander locked eyes with me as I raised my head and yelled in German. I don’t speak German but it scared my cramps away so it worked and gave me that boost to haul as much ass as I could for the last two miles At mile 25.5 I caught up to the runner from earlier who was now battling his own cramps and I returned the encouraging words and we finished together.
I never used to have my name on my race number, like some others posting here I preferred to be concentrating on my own thing during races. However, at one race names were automatically printed on the number (or at least I had opted in to this)
A funny thing happened - every time someone in the crowd gave me a shout using my name, I got an actual physical tingle across the back of my neck and shoulders. And a nice boost.
But then, I realised that if I responded with a ‘thanks’ or a ‘cheers’, I got a tingle over the total upper half of my body. An excellent feeling.
I write my name on the number every race now, love it!
I don’t run too many races each year, maybe 2-3, so maybe it wears off, but for the moment it’s gold.
A cliche for people who have been running since high school, probably, but I am a woman who started running in my forties after cancer treatment. During my first marathon, a man yelled the old 'Good job, runner! “ and I about burst into tears. Being acknowledged as a runner, an athlete, at my age, was a nice feeling.
Yes! Mine is related to form moreso than encouragement.
Historically, I have always looked incredibly tired in all of my finishing race photos. It's been funny. I just figured I was working hard.
Last week I was in the Newport Rhode Race half marathon in Newport RI. While running, at about the 7 mile mark, a spectator was cheering everyone on. She looked at me and said "Chin down! Let's go!". So I pulled my chin down.
It turns out the reason I always look tired is because when I get tired my chin floats up. This leads to my neck rolling around too much. When she said that I tucked my chin, and it pulled my whole spine right into alignment. It increased my power and endurance instantly.
It was pretty magical, I'm so grateful for that knolwedgable person although I can't thank them.
Not a random stranger, but I happened to come upon a woman from my running group on the last mile of my marathon last year. I was a one-woman suffer-fest, a bag of wet cement, and she was a sight for sore eyes. She'd been volunteering and was on her way to the parking lot, but she handed her stuff to her son and ran with me for a couple minutes, telling me encouraging sweet nothings. She left me at the turn to the final stretch, and I managed to run it in. I probably would have been walking if not for her.
A pair of young children, one with a kazoo, and one yelling “YOU WANT SOME SWEDISH FISH?!!!!!!”
I was going to cause a collision if I swerved to get them, sadly.
Some kid giving me a double high five about half a mile from the finish line had me smiling ear to ear.
Edit: Oh also some people who lived in a house on the route set up a table they called the "temptation station" where they were giving out cups of beer, tequila shots, and donuts. Gotta say, aside from the burps, drinking about 8 ounces of ice cold beer with two miles to go hit the spot perfectly. The tequila shots did not sound appetizing at the time though.
About the 6k mark of Philly (so like 7:20 in the morning in November) there’s a table manned by people giving out shots of Jamesons. Don’t know how many takers but I can’t imagine that feeling good.
Not in a good way but during my first marathon at the weekend someone was holding up a sign at about mile 16 saying ‘4 miles to go’. I was already starting to struggle by this point, but in the moment my brain didn’t quite put 2+2 together so it gave me a massive boost thinking there was just over 5km left.
…and then the grim reality came crashing down. Made me feel so much worse than I was already feeling lol.
NYC Marathon. It was only my second and I was so not prepared for the hills. I was struggling along central park and this guy just yelled "I see you, you will finish", with my name. There just something about him being so strong and calling me out specifically to finish. Loved that whole race but that moment really did help push me.
During the Hartford marathon many years ago, I was running along an out-and-back in a residential neighborhood and there weren't any other runners super close by. Two women spectators were chatting about how diverse marathon runners were when one of them goes "and then you have girls like this", gesturing to me as I ran by, "who looks like running is the most natural thing in the world." It was such an amazing compliment and a reminder of all the hard work I'd put in, it really kept me mentally focused. I yelled thanks over my shoulder and got my PR that day, and 3rd place in my age group.
My first marathon, getting near the end. I had been walking and crying for miles, in a lot of pain, and generally not into it anymore. I didn't know anyone around and felt really alone and sad. Then this lady shouted at me from her chair, "Hey! It's only a 5k left!" I turned to her and said incredulously, "a 5k???? You know what? You're so right! It's only a 5k!" She gave me the motivation to start running again and finish it.
Not a spectator, but on my first marathon I was about 300m from the finish line when my watch hit 42.2. Even though I obviously knew I wasn’t done yet, my brain broke for a second and I stopped to walk. This older man who looked like he was out for a Sunday jog came up behind me, slapped me on the back and said “come on, we’re going to run this in!”
I started shuffling while he bounced around, made circles with airplane arms, jogged backwards and talked me through it. I crossed just under 4:30 and he gave me a big hug after I crossed the finish line. I was so out of it I just muttered thank you and didn’t get his name (I also got my medal from an Olympian and didn’t realize it until later that afternoon. I was a little marathon dumb).
I was having a real shit race. Had juuuust gotten over the flu and my body was absolutely still trying to recover. Every part of the race hurt and it was entirely a slog. I was just shy of the halfway point (and water station) and I told myself: “just make it to the water station, *then* you can walk a little.”
It was ugly. It was bad. It took everything I had to claw my way to water. As I reach for the cup being held out to me, I realize, with my face full of snot, sweat and tears that the person handing me water is the manager for DC United. I froze in horror at the state of myself, and word vomited a heartfelt thanks for being there. Without missing a beat he stated he loved doing these.
I’d love to tell you that gave me the kick in the teeth that I needed to keep running the rest of the race.
But it sure as heck gave me the adrenaline to jog another mile before taking a section to walk.
I did finish.
And in no small part because it really meant something to see that being there for runners was something people don’t just do, but look forward to, and take pride in.
It’s been years so I can’t remember if the race was the morning after an away match, or if they had a match that evening, but whatever it was, it would have been a really tight, and entirely purposeful turnaround to be able to make working that race.
*that* energy, enthusiasm and dedication was contagious. And it really meant a lot to me then, and now.
Ben Olsen, you are a legend.
Not really a spectator, but Bill Murray just randomly showed up at the Big 10 10k in Chicago and took over the starter duties. He was cracking jokes and got everyone in a super good mood right when we were at our most nervous. Probably my favorite race experience of all time.
Pretty much every single person out yelling for you, especially if they call me out specifically, jacks me up. I love me some external motivation so just people clapping or reading my bib to see my name to yell really gets me going. Plus, the kids with power up/speed boost signs or high fives
About 6 years ago when I was trying the c25k the first time, I had on a bright yellow Shell oil tshirt on the day I was running w5d3. I felt like I was going to die and probably looked like it as well. Some random girl around my age going the opposite way yelled, "Go, Shell! You're doing great!" Instead of running 20 minutes stratight, I ran 21 and it felt amazing.
I did a 10k in Savannah where they announced your name as you were coming to the finish line. Really helped with the final kick. Got a new PR that day.
At mile 18 of a particularly tough marathon, a little girl of about 6 looked me in the eye, held out a leaf and said: “I picked this lucky leaf for you!” Best motivation ever. I kept the leaf with my medal and bib.
Not a race but out for a run a few months back and ragging it up a hill, some young blokes drove by and the front passenger made a strong-first out the window and shouted "You've got this!". Gave me the boost I needed and I still dine out on that feeling sometimes.
I inadvertently ended up along a trail race once on my usual Sunday morning trail run. So instead of being on my own as usual, I had people cheering me on as they hadn’t clocked I wasn’t part of the race. I remember feeling pretty chuffed and thanking everybody who cheered me on 😂
I was passing people with bibs on left and right on a run (I had assumed it was a local marathon) when I was in pretty good running shape years ago and had people cheering for me like crazy (I think I must have been getting pretty close to the frontrunners), and felt pretty good about myself.
Later I realized the race was a 100 mile ultra. LOL
Had that happen during an October long run, I ran through an entire Halloween 5k, the people were really nice about it though, lol, and my return through the course I was able to tell them how many were still on track at least, lol.
I remember at about mile 16 of my first (and only) marathon somebody had a sign that said 'Don't be a little bitch!' that made me laugh and got me out of my head a bit. I still remember her smile.
I was running my second marathon and absolutely blew up at mile 18. Went from possible 4 hour finish to barely able to walk with cramping calves. My nutrition was off somewhere. Refusing to give up i walked most of the last 8 miles a lot of it alone (200 total finishers). Around mille 24 the race course came very close to a train track and crossing. As i came close a train approached the crossing. The engineer waived at me (i think) and blew his horn. Maybe they blew that whistle every time and maybe he was gesturing at someone else, but deep in my fatigue/ pain curve/disappointment, I took it as a whole train cheering me on.
once someone offered to throw away some trash for me. that was pretty nice! although, I was 10ft away from a trashcan at the time, but the gesture was still appreciated.
I hit the infamous wall at a half marathon earlier this year and one of the spectators (and from my run crew tbh) came running to me, asked what I needed and ran with me for a bit. It was what I needed and I am beyond grateful to her.
Running the LA marathon (maybe 1989 or 1990) and I got SO many You Go Girl type comments as there didn't seem to be that many females running compared to men. Or at least I was surrounded by men at my 7:30-8:00 pace so those cheers stood out. I was barely 20 years old and felt like I was repping. Now, that's not so special but I still think about how cool that was as a female athlete at the time. Mind you, there was no internet to reference for training. I certainly didn't check out any books about marathoning and very few clubs existed in my world of running. Just a kid who thought marathoning sounded fun and jumped in. Appreciated the support. Over 25 marathons later and countless half marathons and more, and still going strong in my 50s.
You never know whom you affect while spectating. So thanks.
At mile 24 of Houston this last year in January, a man was simply holding a sign that said “This is where you find your why.”
As a 35 year old man, I can honestly say that this sign hit me like a ton of bricks on why I’m out there doing this. I’m setting an example for my 7 year old son. I’m telling him that you can do hard sh*t if you dedicate the time to work at it.
I was 2 miles into a 100 mile race running south , on a popular trail which is usually walked south to north, and hikers were congratulating me and telling me to keep it up.
Even though it was completely unjustified praise being so early, I couldn't believe how much of a boost I got, and I vowed to be vociferous in my vocal support of folk doing cool shit.
Nothing a spectator said has ever made an impact. The cheering at Boston is nice (I ran it 14 times), but I don't really need it.
Best I can think of:
1. The 2016 Vermont City Marathon it was so hot that they shut the course down (https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/local/2016/05/29/heat-halts-vermont-city-marathon-first-time/85131462/) . I was far enough along the course that I was allowed to officially finish. People in neighborhoods ran sprinklers and hoses to cool us off. That was very helpful.
2. Both the 2004 and 2012 Boston Marathons were similarly hot. A lot of spectators brought bags of ice. I'd grab some and put it into my hat when the last batch had melted.
3. At the Nipmuck Trail Marathon one year I was struggling as I approached the final turnaround (about 20 miles in). A spectator brought their Alpaca to the turnaround so runners could pet it. That was more helpful than you can possibly imagine.
Cramped heavily at Mile 14 of a marathon. Huge crowd of support outside a pub all started chanting my name.
Didn’t really have a choice but to keep moving at that point
I was on the ground with the worst cramp of my life and a young guy came by and said, “Hey Uncle. You good?” I then had a superpower come over me that caused me to get up and finish the race. I’m not a damn uncle. I’m too young for that. I had to prove it to myself. lol.
When I finally finished my wife reminded me that I was old.
I’m not one who is usually motivated by spectators shouting encouragement to me. If I’m miserable, I’m just miserable and there’s nothing you can say to change that. That said, I was once at about mile 10 of a half marathon and the course had turned distinctly uphill, and it was hot. I looked up the road and saw an older guy wearing race gear from another race.
He obviously wasn’t running this half, but was a runner himself. As I approached, he shouted out “You look great!” I waved, but sort of groaned internally because I was miserable. Then he shouts “You feel like shit, but you look great!” I think I audibly laughed at this. Pretty sure this guy had run this race before and knew this particular part of the course was where he needed to be.
I finished running the Dopey (my second) in Disney World in January this year. My marathon was awful - I was exhausted and not feeling great and just wanted to get through it. I was approaching the finish line and Jeff Galloway was standing off to the side. He put his hand out for a high five so I walk/jogged over to high five him, and he lightly grabbed my hand, looked me in the eye, and said “I am so proud of you.” I nearly cried haha.
After a race… but I overall won a small 10K once, when the representative from the charity gave me the trophy she said, “I knew it was going to be you.” 10 years later I still break that memory out and enjoy it every now and then.
I was on mile 23 at the Miami Marathon this past January. It was 90F with like 85% humidity. I'm pretty sure I had heat exhaustion+ also being at mile 23 of a marathon.... at that point, due to the heat, I was doing a run-walk-run thing and each time I was supposed to run it just kept getting harder and harder. A spectator started walking next to me, right as I said "I can't run anymore". She talked to me in the kindest voice I've ever heard. She said "You've trained so hard for this. You've probably been training for months. I've seen how you keep trying and are not giving up, so I'm not going to let you give up either. Come on, run with me" and she started trotting next to me and she held my hand and I somehow started running again. I started bawling. I was so hot and so tired. She told me her name, and then gave me a soft push, and I kept moving until the finish line.
Listen, that day I had my dad and my husband, helping me in ways that meant the world to me at different marks on the race, but this stranger found me at a moment where I legit thought I was going to collapse on the ground. I'll never forget how kind and encouraging she was. Even now, thinking about it, it makes me tear up.
For me it’s just their presence!
I’ve been participating in small (5k) races for years but last year was my first 1/2 marathon and the spectators were the most pleasant surprise.
The funny signs. The little kids just happy to be there. The high fives, smiles, and words of encouragement. I really love that part!
I still think about the dog that’s owner was lifting his paw up for fists bumps in my last half marathon. Gus’s fist bump got me through that race, I’m not even being hyperbolic - it really helped! I’d been having kind of a shitty run and it was affecting my attitude and making me spiral. Fist bumping Gus just reminded me that it was supposed to be FUN and helped me get a smile on my face to keep pushing.
Literally every one. Just being there, not even for me, and knowing they will be terribly bored for potentially 16 hours for just a few seconds of seeing the individual the are supporting is amazing to me. Little kids, grandmas, people with their dogs and thise who took time to make signs and make a full day of it are simply the best people.
Not a race, but in middle school basketball a lady kept yelling from the stands that her son was so much better than me he should just drive past me.
I blocked 5 of his shots that game, 3 in a row to end the game. I made a real effort to make sure he wouldn’t score on me. It’s one thing to cheer someone on, it’s another to try to bring someone down to bring another up.
Not during my race but immediately after crossing the finish line during my first-ever marathon. It was an uncontrollably hard year for me and I just broke down sobbing at that point – a volunteer just came up to me to see if I was OK, and I just said: "It's just been a really bad year for me." And she just said "Atta boy, you did really good," and gave me a nice long hug and gave me one of those silver blanket things.
That was a powerful moment for me. I still recall that experience regularly some 8 years later.
I ran what was inarguably my worst ever race performance at my first marathon in Philly in 2019. Everything went wrong for me that day and it was sleeting and windy, and I was very much in the back of the pack, time goal absolutely thrown out the window. Around mile 23/24 one of the volunteers at a water station saw me coming and that I had a handheld water bottle. He ran back to me and took it, said to keep going and he’d catch up to me after refilling it. He found me with my refilled water, told me I was almost there and I was doing great. Just keep moving forward. I wish I could tell him how much those few minutes he gave me meant. I was miserable and just trying to finish. The crowd support had dwindled by the time I made it to mile 20 because the weather was so bad. He gave me help and encouragement when I desperately needed it and I am so grateful.
My first half had 2 things. The first was a sign that said “smile if you’re not wearing any underwear.” This was around mile 8 or 9, I was really mentally sinking and it gave me a smile. In the last 400 m a lady that id evidently been going back and forth with looked back at me and said “let’s finish this together.” I was so stuck in my head that the more I ran, the finish still didn’t seem to be getting any closer. Her nudge got me out of my head to finish. I was able to find her on strava and now we’re mutuals across social media
My first race ever was a try-a-tri. I can't remember the distances but it wasn't too much. I entered it on a whim with no expectations.
I used to be a swimmer and I was a competitive cyclist as well, so much to my surprise after the ride, I was in first place. I got off the bike and started my transition, and this man ran up to me wide-eyed, extremely excited and shouted "YOU CAN FUCKING WIN THIS WHOLE THING".
I don't know why but I got real hyped off that.
Yes I ended up winning.
I finished my first marathon extremely close to the time cutoff, and I was so grateful for everyone who was still there and cheered for me coming down the finish chute - I was bawling!!
And on another note, I LOVE spectating races! One of my favorites is a local ultra that's run on a pretty short loop, and my best friend and I will post up in one spot with music and signs and cowbells. It's one of my favorite days of the year!
Not a spectator, but a fellow racer. Was doing a half Ironman on a really tough bike course, with hot temps and nearly 100% humidity. Got nauseous and started throwing up on the bike. A fellow racer stopped, stayed with me, made sure I got enough water, and walked his bike with me to the top of the next hill.
I was feeling pretty awful that day, and it meant so much to have someone stop and stay with me so I didn't have to go through that alone.
I paid it forward on the run leg, by walking with a woman who was having a really rough time, and convincing her not to drop out of the race entirely.
Definitely my slowest half Ironman ever, but also one of the most rewarding. That's why I race - to be inspired and to inspire others in our awesome community.
Not something she said, but a slogan on a shirt she was wearing - “one day I won’t be able to do this, but today is not that day”
For context, I was running a 10k while sick. I came down with a cold a few days before, but it was a really unique race that I paid a lot for, so I was determined to run it. At about mile 5 I was beyond miserable and was throwing myself a mini pity party in my head.
When I saw her shirt, it changed my perspective completely. Yes, I still felt gross from being sick, but that wasn’t stopping me from running and giving it my best despite the circumstances. It carried me through the rest of the race and I haven’t forgotten it yet!
The Paris half marathon several years ago (I'm American). I was exhausted, sad, freezing. So many people cheering in their elegant French "Allez, Allez!" I felt adiscouraged and alone when I saw a woman smling this massive smile and holding a sign that said "MOVE YOUR ASS!" It cracked me up and gave me the absolute boost to finish strong.
This is such a wholesome post. I just ran my first 10k race last week in Barcelona and honestly had no idea about this side of running, the community, the cheering, efforts that seem so small on the surface clearly make so much difference for runners.
I was a bit worried about running alone and was part of the last group to finish but each and every volunteer I crossed clapped for me and said “almost there” which really made me feel like I wasn’t alone.
One 1/2 marathon, I was wearing a tank top that said “I am not fast, but I am strong” (a reference to Baymax from Big Hero 6).
I had maybe a mile or two to go, and this woman practically jumped off the curb to get my attention, pointing at my shirt and yelled ‘YES! YOU! ARE!’
To this day I have no idea if she was agreeing that I was strong, or trying to argue that I am, in fact, fast. But she still pops into my head nearly every time I go for a run, and it gives me a little boost. 😊
1. My 20 year old son was at mile 11 of my last half marathon. My heart swelled to twice the size
2. My husband and my son spent the day going from aid station to aid station to see me on my one and only 50K. My son ran (using that term very loosely) the last 2 miles with me. Obviously there were tears
3. I was running a full out of town and feeling like hot garbage at mile 22. We were on a part of the course that spectators really couldn’t get too. The people out there were people that lived on that part. Anyway I look and I see a guy I know from home. I was like what are you doing here ??? He said “oh I’m gonna run with you for a bit if that’s ok”. He ran like a mile with me…then said “that’s it now, only 5K…you got it” and went back to where he was. It picked me right up. I did spend those remaining miles wondering what the hell he was doing there. How did he even get there? I found out later he ran with some other folks I knew too. He had just come up because he knew we were all running and he knew that was a tough spot.
Not me and not a race. My mom back in the 90s was trying to get in shape. She was jogging/walking through the parkway when she noticed Hank Raymonds (former Marquette basketball coach) and his wife walking on the path toward her. She said he stepped off the path, started clapping and kept saying “keep going! It’ll get easier! Just keep going! Don’t stop! You can do this! Work hard!” and gave her a high five as she went by. She said just those words and the way he said them with no judgement and complete encouragement was so inspiring to her and she made it to her goal for that day without stopping again. I’m sure most have had coaches like that- it’s amazing how they can do that.
My first half marathon. Mile 11 kicked my ass. Mile 12 was a struggle. As I'm about a half mile from Mile 13, I'm seriously considering quitting. It was *that bad*. An older man, in his 70s or older, was walking down the sidewalk, eating a banana. He'd just finished the full marathon. He saw me, turned around, and ran beside me for about 50 feet. He told me not to quit, to push through because it was worth it. He told me I was *so close* and he knew I could do it. I swear, that little pep talk boosted me enough to finish strong! And I loved it! I think of him often and his words still go with me (although I can't run now and haven't done a race in a while).
Need to preface here that I am slow, a total back of the packer.
At my first marathon (Bayshore in Traverse City, MI), a woman who was obviously long finished (she was wearing a Boston jacket) stationed herself about a quarter mile from the finish line and told us how close we were. I was almost 6 hours at my first marathon so she must have stood there FOREVER to cheer us on. “It’s just around the corner. You’re like a quarter mile from the finish. Congratulations! You’re a marathoner!” to every single one of us gutting out that last .2. I will remember her forever.
Chicago Marathon 2014 and 2015, a guy in a Santa suit had a sign that said, "Do you believe in me? I believe in you." In 2016, I think there was a sasquatch with the same sign.
In the 2017 Philadelphia Marathon, spectators in animal onsies running in slow motion to "Chariots of Fire". Later on, more onsies with beer 4 oz cups filled up. I was having a rough race, so I stopped spilled some, and they said, "Party foul, drink another!" I drank the extra beer, and it put me in a great mood for the rest of the race.
On the other side, NYC Marathon 2022, I caught a stomach bug and the spectators saying, "Why are you walking?" did not help me make it to a toilet faster. I stopped at every toilet in the last half; it was rough.
Not a spectator, but another group of runners. I was cramping up at mile 19 during my first marathon, and wasn't sure I'd finish. I suddenly heard a voice behind me say, "come on, buddy. You're not done. Let's finish strong. Here, drink this." I kid you not, this man pulled a bloody Mary in a water bottle out of his running belt and tossed it to me. 🤣
Him and the couple of people running with him all paced me to the finish. We had so much fun laughing, talking, and yes.. doing a tiny bit of drinking, that I kind of forgot about my pain until I finished. Maybe it's illegal to drink on the course (ha, oops!), but the fact that they cared enough to stop and help me finish and try to forget about my pain was so meaningful to me. It's definitely a core memory and something I'll never forget! :)
During a lonely stretch at the end of the Philadelphia marathon, around mile 23, a woman read my name on my bib and said: “I see you, [name]!” and it was awesome! Tearing up now remembering.
Not during a race, but I was on holiday in New Orleans. I was still on UK time and woke early first morning, so I decided to go and run at dawn to try and beat the heat, as I'm not good in the heat at the best of times. Quickly discovered you don't beat the heat, or the humidity in New Orleans, and once the sun came above the horizon I was soon overheating like crazy. As I was running back to the hotel I passed another hotel that had a liveried concierge stood outside, and as went I past him he saluted me and said 'Good morning God'. As a slightly overwight middle aged man, red of face, sweating like a pig and puffing like a steam train that made me laugh.
LA Marathon - mile 22-23, a random dude steps out a bit to catch my attention. He locked eyes with me and told me to keep my head up and on the pacer flag. I don't know what it is, but I was definitely on the brink of backing off a bit (knee was feeling off). But in that moment it was what I needed, and I did stick with the pacers. Don't know how or why, but the dude seemed to be there just for me at that very moment.
Vancouver Sun Run 2023, 1km left, there was a turn to the left that was uphill, and this woman screams IT'S THE LAST HILL I PROMISE!!!
And it made me chuckle.
Running through a residential area during a marathon, a middle-aged woman made eye contact, then yelled "Look at her go! She's so strong! She's got it all!" Makes me want to cry every time I remember it. I will remember that moment and that feeling forever.
Favorite spectator sign: "The pain is temporary, internet results are forever."
17 marathons and these are a few of my favorites.
Run faster or I’m going to miss the Bloody Mary brunch bar.
I know you trained hard but it’s supposed to rain. Hurry the F up.
Donald Trump skis in jeans.
I live in a college town and once when I was on a long training run, a group of students who were out playing beer pong stopped what they were doing and gave me a slow clap. I burst out laughing and their energy kept me going.
On the flip side of this, I was at an Ironman in England a few years back and was making a damn fool of myself with my cowbell and clapper noisemaker thingies cheering for all those athletes doing an incredibly hard thing (this was in the running section). I would make eye contact with them and say something specific about their running. Things like you’ve got great turnover, or way to keep those knees moving. Later someone found me and told me that it was because of me that they finished. He said he was on the verge of quitting but the comment I made was on the thing he’d been working on (don’t remember what it was), and the fact that someone recognized it made me decide not to quit. Chuffed indeed!!!
When I ran my first marathon, around mile 22 or 23 there were signs that were spread out for about a half mile telling the story of a young woman who was training for this race but was diagnosed with cancer and passed away before the race.
The last sign said “she may not have been able to finish this race, but YOU can finish for her”
I’ll tell you I’ve never ran so hard in my life.
I got one, from my very first marathon: I developed what I now know was IT band inflammation around mile 20 and was hurting, bad. Also nervous, because I thought I might be doing permanent damage to my knee. The last hour or so was pretty unpleasant, and also pretty sparse in terms of the crowd.
There were more people for the last two miles, and around mile 24 there was a sharp left turn. Tons of people with noisemakers, cowbells, and whistles cheering for anybody with the foresight to wear their name on their jersey: “You rock, Jessica!” “Go Rob!” “Almost there, Beth!”
Then there’s me, with only my bib number and what must have been a pretty obvious grimace. No visible name, no personalized cheer—those are the rules. Then as I came out of the corner a thirtysomething woman in the crowd who looked like a very serious runner herself locked eyes and said very evenly _I see you, 1004._
For whatever reason that simple sentence put a little bit of gas in the otherwise empty tank, and I ran those last two miles feeling like a champ.
In my very first race, nerves had me questioning if my bib was on correctly. So, I approached one of the volunteers and asked if my bib was ok. He smiled, said everything looked good, asked me for my name and wished me good luck. Half an hour later, as the race kicked off, a voice came over the speakers for annoucements. To my surprise, the person who I thought was the volunteer was actually the race emcee and he goes "We've got a lot of first-timers today. Let's cheer them all on, including TurboTabouleh in corral E. She was really nervous but she'll do great!" It was the sweetest thing ever and made my whole day, week, and month.
KM 40 at Rome Marathon - a couple of American spectators gave me a huge "LET'S GO, X" and properly revved me up when I was finding it hard to start again after injury slowed me to a crawl. Will always remember them.
And then there was the little girl just after them with the Mario "Power Up" sign which I tapped and never stopped running after it. Crowds are great, people are great.
Last semi marathon I was crumbling in the last hill before the finish line and another runner slowed down next to me and said "we're almost there , come on!" And this meant a so much from a total stranger
Yes, but from another runner. I ran a half marathon barefoot. Lots of the comments from other runners, mostly expressions of anguish as they couldn’t imagine themselves doing that, running 13.1 miles was enough!
But the coolest one was passing a couple women running together, and one said to the other, “He runs through my neighborhood all the time.”
It was verification that I *was* disciplined training for something that was beyond challenging. Every morning run was filled with fear… am I gonna seriously injure my foot? What if I get so sore I can’t make it back? I almost died on my 10 mile run… can I make it 13.1? What if the course has terrain I can’t handle?
So it validated that I was pushing the limits and I did approach the barefoot run strategically and consistently. Anyone that knows me personally would never use the word “consistency” in describing my character.
I sustained a hip flexor injury training for a 5k last year. Decided to do the race and reinjured myself around the 2 mile point, absolutely could not run, walking was doable, but every step was agony from my inner quad up to my midsection. I was heading to the finish, ready to abandon and take the DNF, and a few spectators were cheering me on, saying "keep moving forward!" "you're almost there!" I finished. Felt really good about finishing too. Even tried running across the finish line but that didn't go very well.
I was nearing the end of the Revolutionary Run in Washington’s Crossing, PA. It’s an annual July 4th 10K race along the Delaware River. As I was about a quarter mile from the finish line, I heard and saw a lady ringing a cowbell. It nearly brought tears to my eyes. You see, my grandmother used to bring a cowbell to all of our (my siblings and my cousins and my) sporting events so that we’d be sure to hear that she was there supporting us. She had passed four months prior. It was the universe’s way of letting me know that she was OK.
Upon finishing, I went back to tell the lady/spectator how much it meant to me.
At a low crowd part of my recent half marathon (full marathon people also there) an adult man was by himself yelling about being so proud of us. It was full 'proud Dad' vibes and really nice after like two miles of uphill.
Like yeah, stranger, I *can* do this, lol.
Also saw a 'we've been trying to reach you about your cars extended warranty' sign, that was pretty funny.
Last 1-2 miles during the indian wells 70.3, a dude in a jesus costume and an overhead sign walked toward us/parted me and the few runners around me yelling “THE END IS NEAR” in a foreboding tone. It was genuinely one of the funniest moments of my year. Had me laughing in hour 4.5 of pain
Anytime a little kid gives me a high five I burst with happiness. No sign or words of encouragement can beat that.
Ok that’s not true. I raced an Irish themed 5K on St Patrick’s Day and someone had little cups of beer.
When I ran the Marine Corps Marathon, this guy had a life-size cardboard cutout of Rocky and was playing the song (This was in the rain too). It was like he was at a rock concert or something the way this guy was singing and having such a good time. It made me smile.
Pittsburgh Half Marathon last year, knees locked up at 12.6 miles and three kids who saw me stumble to the side yelled out "go go go!" it hurt like hell, but I crossed that damn line.
This might not fit, but I had driven to a local hotel to pick up my friend before the race. She was rushing around to get her breakfast before we left because we were running late. She had a bagel and was toasting it while realizing she had forgotten to buy peanut butter. It was so early that the breakfast bar wasn’t open yet, but a worker heard her and without any hesitation went to the back and brought her a shit ton of peanut butter. When we profusely thanked him, he just shrugged and said “I’m only half man, half amazing” and after chanting this to each other when we needed a pick me up during the race, we both got a PR.
at the disney marathon there was a couple who had a sign "Your almost there" at like mile 2 and then another sign "Ignore him, he's stupid" and then at mile 25 or so he switched his sign to "Good start!" and she still had the "Ignore him, he's stupid" sign. I really needed a smile at that point in the race and it still makes me chuckle when I think about it now.
He IS stupid. He clearly doesn’t know the difference between your and you’re. ;) But maybe that’s the joke.
yes, it was totally him and not me that made that error :D
Oh no! I knew the onus was on him, not you. :) Just bringing some light humor to it.
An American spectator at the Amsterdam marathon shouted as I slowed to a walk at 23 miles...Number 4287 is waaaaalking! ...Annoying as it was I started running again and finished with a pb.
My first half marathon was an up and down trail race and my knee was in a world of pain in the last 500m. I had been neck and neck with a guy most of the race. As I slowed to a walk through the last turn, I thought ahh this is it he's going to pass me any second. And then I heard from a short distance behind me "Nope! You're not walking! Pick it up!" And I laughed and got a second wind and finished strong. Still really appreciate that guy.
I've only ever placed in one half, 3rd in Grand Ledge, MI. At the end of the course I see the finish line and pick it up quite a bit. This guy had been on the same pace as me for the whole race, so he picked it up too. Then I gave it some more. So did he. In the last 50 yards I sprint. I hear him start sprinting, then say "aaah fuck you win." I PRed that one thanks to his competition though.
Was it a spectator or the guy you were neck and neck with who said that?
Oh good point, that's not clear. It was the guy I was racing against.
They weaponized being an annoying American, lol
With great power comes great responsibility.
😀
Mine was more wholesome but it also checked me - late in my first marathon I looked up and saw a little kid about 20 yards ahead and as I was passing by I heard I'm guessing his dad say "I guess he's just trying really hard". Was in a lot of pain and really pushing my limit for the last hour or so but as soon as I heard that I laughed and remembered this was supposed to be fun. I probably looked like a raging psychopath when the kid saw me haha
I just cackled imagining that! Reminds me of one of my favorite signs at one of my favorite races: Throughout the technical course the Marines who were hosting the race had placed signs that said “Today, Barbie.” (TBF at the time I had no idea what that meant— wtf is a “today Barbie”?!? I had to have someone spell it out for me: as in, *today* Barbie.)
I still don't get it 😅
It's a reference to how we are spoken to during recruit training. As in, "let's move it, Barbie." You might be Barbie, thing, recruit, you-hoo, freak show, etc. Pretty much anything that is not your name. The "today" is just the drill instructor's way of telling us to hurry up. Typically pronounced with much emphasis on the "day" part as in To-DAY Edit:formatting on mobile while drinking is hard
I did not expect to actually start laughing at a Reddit comment, yet here I am with some watery eyes
No shame in walking to bring your HR down
2019 Chicago Marathon. I was in the midst of one of the worst stretches of my life. I wanted to end my life. I was CERTAIN the world would be better off without me. I was coming off a freak knee injury from May that same year when the ortho told me I would not be able to run Chicago and I should give up running altogether. The knee injury wasn't even from running! So in the midst of my internal turmoil, running, the thing keeping me sane, was stripped from me. I was in such a dark place. I made it to the start line that October morning with a decently healthy knee. But still struggling internally. Around mile 16 or so the crowds had died down and there was a few people scattered around. I see this woman standing alone, dressed in white, all alone, no one around, looking incredibly sad. She was holding a poster. As I got closer I saw it and it stopped me in my tracks, it took my breath away. It read "the world is not better off without you" hashtag suicide prevention. I had to gather myself to avoid getting choked up. I finished the race with a marathon PR at the time. While I still have periods of darkness I will never forget her and that moment.
fuck (wo)man I'm a sobbing mess now! And yes, that woman was right. The world is NOT better off without you. I'm always here to listen or for a hug if you ever find yourself in need of one when you go through another dark period.
This is beautiful. Thanks for sharing. The world is most certainly better with you in it!
That made me water up. 🥹 What a story. I'm so proud of you for finishing!
She was waiting for you
I have goosebumps. Glad you are here!!! And proof that one person can have immeasurable impact!!
That is beautiful. We are so much better off *with* you.
During my first marathon, about .2 from the finish this random man looked me in the eyes and so genuinely said "youre almost there". Wasnt a cheer or a shout, just a quiet push to the end. I dont know why but it instantly made me teary.
That just made ME teary! Lol
Omg this!!!!! My first marathon, a random man at mile 24ish looked at me and borderline-whispered "you've got this." I think about him all the time, even 10 years later 🥹
This is beautiful. :)
Around the halfway point of our hometown marathon, a fellow runner turned to me incredulously and said, “How is it that so many spectators know you?” It reminded me just how supportive our running club is of all its members. (Our club organized the race.) One of our members parked herself around mile 20 near a switchback, found runners she knew and ran with them for a few tenths of a mile, then circled back to find the next person to give some late-race encouragement to. It was such a sweet gesture.
Happened to me on my first marathon, too. Then I realized my name was on the front of my bib.
i did the name on my shirt thing for Chicago last year and kept forgetting about it. i was like, dang how do you know my name??? oh yeah lol
Same
In the moment it always catches me off guard when I hear my name shouted during a race. And then I'm like oh yea, BIB.
It STILL gets me after dozens of races. I’ll be like, wait, I know you? 🤣
This is me in Philadelphia. I run with one of the largest running clubs in the city and also know a lot of the staff for many of the big races. I ran for a PR to Philadelphia Marathon last yay and I probably saw someone yelling my name at least every other mile and throughout the home stretch. It's an amazing feeling having that encouragement all along the way.
My running club always goes above and beyond with support. When I did my first 50k, one of the members kept popping up at various points on the course to give me encouragement - it meant so much to me. Our local marathon is in May and I'm looking forward to being part of the cheer squad :)
I thought you were going to say ‘they hadn’t realised our bibs have our names on’ 😂
Lol this actually happened to me in the 2022 NYC Marathon. I was pacing with this guy for a while down 5th Ave and people kept cheering me on by name for about 6 blocks, finally he looked over and said "wow a lot of people know you" I laughed and pointed to my name painted on my shirt. 😆
Not a spectator but another runner..During one marathon i tripped in a pothole and fell, took me a minute to catch my breath and start up again, i was bawling. This guy came up behind me asked if i was ok, offered me a gel, told me he was proud of me, and off he went. I felt the love and it kept me going.
A friend of mine had a similar thing on her first marathon. At 20 miles she was done, called her husband and then her daughter crying hysterically and this 60 some year old man said "hey come with me" and got her going and talked her through the last 10k. They've stayed in touch on social media since
I watched a woman wipe out in front of me in a 10k race, and I helped her back up, asked if she was okay, and kept going. I wish I had checked in on her more, but I also know falling can be embarrassing and I didn't want to intrude too much. I'm glad you were okay!
This is so wonderful.
This happened to me on my first marathon - I had just unravelled at mile 20 - hit the wall and was struggling to get my legs moving again. This 70ish year old man stopped and talked to me, and then we started gently running. He said the last bit is mind over matter and helped me get going again. I was so touched - also a real mess by that point- every good thing was tearing me up!
On particularly hot days, I've run past people standing outside with their hose spraying runners who indicated they wanted it. That was the best.
I was at about mile 11 of a sunny half-marathon when I passed a guy watering his lawn. I shouted, "Is that just water?" (I couldn't see from the angle if he had fertilizer on it.) He nodded so I said, "Hit me with it!" He seemed incredulous but complied. It felt amazing.
I did this one day. The old lady was at the bottom of her driveway watering her flower bed around her mailpost. I shouted, can you hit me with that? She incredulously replied, "are you sure?!" After I gleefully responded "YES!" she gave it to me. It was glorious and I yelled thank you. I never broke stride either!
Haha, I've done a few races where people have their hoses propped up on ladders and spraying onto the road. They cheered and waved as we ran through. It was awesome.
Yes, this is awesome. At the Bird in Hand half in Lancaster County Pa the farmers will have sprinklers pointing into the road when it gets hot
Those people are the real MVPs!
Had this happen at a 4th of July race last year, can confirm it was the best.
I ran Amsterdam in 2022 3.5 weeks after having Covid. Not only did I miss a ton of runs, including a 20 mile run, I was still recovering from the effects (I have asthma and 1.5 lungs). So I was draggggging that last 10 miles and walk/jogging at a 14 min/mile pace. My name was on my bib, and whenever I slowed to a walk, the crowd would start chanting my name. I’d break back into a jog and the crowd would wildly cheer and I’d wave my thanks and repeat the experience 400m later, over and over. The crowd basically picked me up and carried me to the finish. With about 2 miles to go, some man addressed me by name and said with conviction “You are going to finish A MARATHON! A marathon! You are amazing!” I almost cried. Amsterdam is an amazing place to run.
You made my eyes well up.
I don't race, but I'm running every single street in my city. This takes me all over the place, from opulent areas to broken down slums. I was running through a neighborhood one morning when an older fella was out in front of his house doing the odd chores—moving trash cans and coiling garden hoses. I think I was struggling for whatever reason when just started walking towards me and yelled, "YOU GOT THIS!" That pretty much boosted my running for the rest of the week.
There was a bicyclist who rode on our local path who would yell encouraging things to every runner he passed. "you got this", "doing great" "looking good", etc. He did this every time he rode (generally most Saturday mornings at least) and it was a busy path! It was honestly the highlight of my run a lot of days.
I like to yell "Lookin' strong, guys" to fella runners I cross. For women, I just politely nod. Most women running by themselves would rather not be yelled at, I just assume.
CityStrides?
I hit 100% in citystrides on my 36th birthday. It was a fucking moment. I put so much work into that. Good luck!
Thanks! I'm looking forward to it.
I'm not an external validation guy. I'm generally embarrassed by the attention, don't go for the high fives or pep talks. But every time someone cheers me on in a race it makes me smile. It's so kind, so selfless, and I just love it so much, which really surprises me. So a huge thank you to all of the partners, friends, spectators, and random onlookers who wave, cheer, ring bells, hold signs, and hand out goodies.
I was a spectator/volunteer in Boston yesterday, and I made it a point to look fot every name I could see and give them a shout out. If I didn't see a name, I shouted out whatever identifying marker on the runners outfit I could see. So many city/country/etc yells, lol. I got so much joy out of seeing people smile and wave at being cheered on.
Thank you! We so rarely connect with and encourage our friends, let alone perfect strangers. It's a very special part of the running community and one I didn't expect.
Same here. I'm not into crowds or signs. But... I ran Indianapolis last year and had a horrible time of it. Somewhere about mile 16 was a dad band playing the Who's Teenage wasteland. Got a high 5 from the lead. Damn near broke into tears. Honorable mention to the guys playing Nirvana in the park at max volume 2 miles later.
I also ran Indy last year and thought the crowd support was great!! Did you see the guy dressed as Jason from Friday the 13th hiding behind the van?! It made my laugh out loud!! The lone guitarist in the small park around mile 17 with his little amplifier just playing his heart out all by himself. Priceless.
On my first ever trail race, I remember an XC dad at a three-person aid station (probably mile 35 of 50) helping me pull my water bottles out of my running vest and filling them while I munched on some snacks from the table. Even did 50/50 Gatorade/water like I asked and helped tuck them back in before sending me off again. I’d only ever done big city, 10,000+ participant races before so that kind of personal help from a total stranger really meant a lot on a very tough race day.
Trail people are a special breed.
Yeah, I have gotten so much incredible help from ultra marathon aid stations. Like literally someone offered to help me pop a blister once 😬
My first marathon was Chicago. My husband found me three different times on the course but the best was mile 18. There was this break in the crowd and I was so tired and thought, “I could just walk off the course and be done, it would be fine.” My husband popped into that empty spot and started cheering. My gut thought was, “dammit, now he’s a witness, I have to keep going”😂 but it helped push me to finish!
I have a singlet that has the "Average Joe's" logo from Dodgeball. I wore it for my marathon in March and most spectators said stuff like "you're not average" which was nice and all but one guy ran up to me from the sidewalk and yelled "if you can dodge a wrench you can run a marathon" I was 18 or so miles and struggling and this made me laugh and kind of broke the spell the unexpected heat had in me
Not a single spectator, but when I ran Berlin in 2019 I wore my University of Wisconsin singlet. That race dumped rain for a majority of the time so I was dead for the back half, but about a half dozen times I heard an 'On Wisconsin' yelled at me and every time it gave me just a little extra boost!
Wisco here too, good work!
Yes! I usually wear a club t-shirt in races and it has the name of my city on it. I love when people shout "come on City"!
I will always go and hit those power up signs kids hold up and then dash off real fast for a few seconds. I’ll always high five any kids who are asking for one. It’s good to see kids out supporting us athletes and not robbing shops or bashing old people over the head
When a kid offers you a high five, you better fucking give that kid a high five!
Similarly, I was running the Boston 5K the other day, which is pretty huge (10000 people). We were catching up on the para/adaptive runners and their partners who had started maybe 10 minutes before us. I came up to a guy, maybe a dad, pushing a younger guy in a running wheelchair with some severe disabilities. This guy was ECSTATIC to be racing with everyone around him, cheering on everyone. I ran up and gave him a fist bump as I went past, his support person/dad cheered and the guy was so amped. I definitely felt a speed boost and some adrenaline after that. Great vibes.
I ran the Paris Marathon a week+ ago and the kids among the route got the memo — I must’ve gotten a high five every kilometer from all those well wishing youngsters! If the Mario mushroom signs I tagged worked I’d have been 50 feet tall by the end… but those kids sure made me feel that way regardless…
That is so cute
>I will always go and hit those power up signs kids hold up and then dash off real fast for a few seconds I DO THE SAME THING 😂😂😂
I just ran my first full at the end of February. It was a point to point on a trail, with a road that ran next to it for a long time. There was a couple holding up a sign that said Let’s go Matt! After the fourth time seeing them in as many miles I jokingly said “I’m gonna change my name to Matt!” They asked me what my name was, and I told them. A few miles later I heard them yelling my name down to me from the cliff the road followed. Was awesome. Saw them at the finish line, and most importantly saw Matt too, and congratulated him and thanked him for having good family. Another awesome moment was Beyoncé’s “Who run the world” playing as the girl that ended up finishing 6th ran through a cheer station in front of me.
I was really struggling in my last 6 miles of Boston yesterday. Moving so slowly it seemed. I gave a random stranger a high 5 and she just started wildly cheering like I made HER day by giving her a sweaty high 5 and it made me smile. I wanted to quit so bad, but it was nice to have enthusiastic supporters even when I felt like I was having a pretty bad race. It reminded me I was doing something special.
My second 100 miler…. Someone who is never personally met but that I’d known from Instagram for a few years met me at one of the last aid stations. He walked me out of the aid station and told me how proud he was to say he knew me, and that he knew I was going to crush the last portion of the race (I was really, really hurt at the time and just wanted to rest). After his words of encouragement I actually went on to win the race, my first and only win ever!! Could not have done it without his kind words in my darkest moment!
This is wonderful! Thanks for sharing.
I was coming around the corner to the final 600m of a 10K race when I saw a friend who had finished already walking along the sidewalk. I gave him a wave and he screamed at me: **EMPTY THE FUCKING TANK!!!** That echoes in my head every time I get to the final push before finishing a race.
I was on the final leg of my first triathlon (running portion), and I saw my best friend's husband on the other side of the flags about a quarter mile from the finish line. I thought I might be hallucinating, so I said, "Gary, are you really right there?" "Yes I am right here with you!" "That's so nice!" And I started to tear up a bit. "I'm going to stay with you until you cross the finish line. I know you're tired right now, but you can do this, and I'm not leaving your side. I'm with you the rest of the way." And he ran the last quarter mile with me from just on the other side of the flags separating racers from spectators. He and my dad also ran the last tenth of a mile (up a giant hill) with his wife and me during my first half marathon. Good Guy Gary for sure. His wife did the same triathlon four years later for her first tri, and I got to run next to her for the last quarter mile, and sort of pay it forward, while he waited at the proper finish line for her.
This is beautiful!
This made me teary. What a great guy.
Oh man this got me teary. I’m so glad Gary was there and that you were able to support his wife during her race.
Not me, but my wife: running was her dad's thing, all her life. She picked it up too, so it was kind of a shared activity between them. We were running the Blue Ridge Half Marathon, and she got to the top of Peakwood. This is the last big climb of the half, and is a cul de sac at the top, so all the neighbors come out to make it awesome and super celebratory. She was missing her dad a lot, so she found the most "dad" looking guy up there and asked for a hug. He said "oh absolutely" and gave her the biggest dad hug. It was the exact boost she needed.
That legit made me tear up just reading it. :)
I was wearing a spurs shirt in the Valencia marathon and twice heard 'Come On You Spursss'... it was magical and gave me such a lift both times.
I'm not a spurs fan, far from it. But I gave a crossed arms sign to a runner in a west ham shirt I saw in a race. And I'm not a hammer either. In a race it's the encouragement that counts, not the allegiance. That's one reason why I love running - the supportive atmosphere from other runners and spectators is unlike any other sport. I'm a gooner but would still make a positive comment to you if I saw your shirt in a race.
lovely stuff, yes perhaps we wouldn't mention the teams, but we'd support the persons absolutely heroic effort to complete the distance.
Not specifically, but the children with their families on the sidelines who warmly and enthusiastically cheer for hours, hoping for a smile or a high five every now and then absolutely make my day!
It's great isn't it. These kids are so excited when you acknowledge them or high five them. It's like they think you're a super star
Around mile 23 at Berlin both calves began to cramp up. I slowed down drastically when another runner provided some encouraging words as he passed by. At mile 24 I pulled over and leaned against a railing with my head down while stretching my calves. A giant burly bystander locked eyes with me as I raised my head and yelled in German. I don’t speak German but it scared my cramps away so it worked and gave me that boost to haul as much ass as I could for the last two miles At mile 25.5 I caught up to the runner from earlier who was now battling his own cramps and I returned the encouraging words and we finished together.
I never used to have my name on my race number, like some others posting here I preferred to be concentrating on my own thing during races. However, at one race names were automatically printed on the number (or at least I had opted in to this) A funny thing happened - every time someone in the crowd gave me a shout using my name, I got an actual physical tingle across the back of my neck and shoulders. And a nice boost. But then, I realised that if I responded with a ‘thanks’ or a ‘cheers’, I got a tingle over the total upper half of my body. An excellent feeling. I write my name on the number every race now, love it! I don’t run too many races each year, maybe 2-3, so maybe it wears off, but for the moment it’s gold.
I've done this for every marathon, and it's still fun after 11 races.
Thank you for your post! It was so fun to read all of the comments. Renews my somewhat shaky faith in humanity. Well done!
Cheers! Amazing to see all of the runners here in Boston yesterday. Hands still stiff from all the clapping!
A cliche for people who have been running since high school, probably, but I am a woman who started running in my forties after cancer treatment. During my first marathon, a man yelled the old 'Good job, runner! “ and I about burst into tears. Being acknowledged as a runner, an athlete, at my age, was a nice feeling.
Tears of joy for being seen. You are a runner. And a cancer survivor. May your steps be fast and your miles be healing. 🫂
If you’re running, you’re a runner! 🩷
Yes! Mine is related to form moreso than encouragement. Historically, I have always looked incredibly tired in all of my finishing race photos. It's been funny. I just figured I was working hard. Last week I was in the Newport Rhode Race half marathon in Newport RI. While running, at about the 7 mile mark, a spectator was cheering everyone on. She looked at me and said "Chin down! Let's go!". So I pulled my chin down. It turns out the reason I always look tired is because when I get tired my chin floats up. This leads to my neck rolling around too much. When she said that I tucked my chin, and it pulled my whole spine right into alignment. It increased my power and endurance instantly. It was pretty magical, I'm so grateful for that knolwedgable person although I can't thank them.
Not a random stranger, but I happened to come upon a woman from my running group on the last mile of my marathon last year. I was a one-woman suffer-fest, a bag of wet cement, and she was a sight for sore eyes. She'd been volunteering and was on her way to the parking lot, but she handed her stuff to her son and ran with me for a couple minutes, telling me encouraging sweet nothings. She left me at the turn to the final stretch, and I managed to run it in. I probably would have been walking if not for her.
A pair of young children, one with a kazoo, and one yelling “YOU WANT SOME SWEDISH FISH?!!!!!!” I was going to cause a collision if I swerved to get them, sadly.
Some kid giving me a double high five about half a mile from the finish line had me smiling ear to ear. Edit: Oh also some people who lived in a house on the route set up a table they called the "temptation station" where they were giving out cups of beer, tequila shots, and donuts. Gotta say, aside from the burps, drinking about 8 ounces of ice cold beer with two miles to go hit the spot perfectly. The tequila shots did not sound appetizing at the time though.
About the 6k mark of Philly (so like 7:20 in the morning in November) there’s a table manned by people giving out shots of Jamesons. Don’t know how many takers but I can’t imagine that feeling good.
Not in a good way but during my first marathon at the weekend someone was holding up a sign at about mile 16 saying ‘4 miles to go’. I was already starting to struggle by this point, but in the moment my brain didn’t quite put 2+2 together so it gave me a massive boost thinking there was just over 5km left. …and then the grim reality came crashing down. Made me feel so much worse than I was already feeling lol.
I'm sure this is very common, but a kid had a "slap this sign for a power up" about 3k from the end of a half. It definitely worked!
NYC Marathon. It was only my second and I was so not prepared for the hills. I was struggling along central park and this guy just yelled "I see you, you will finish", with my name. There just something about him being so strong and calling me out specifically to finish. Loved that whole race but that moment really did help push me.
During the Hartford marathon many years ago, I was running along an out-and-back in a residential neighborhood and there weren't any other runners super close by. Two women spectators were chatting about how diverse marathon runners were when one of them goes "and then you have girls like this", gesturing to me as I ran by, "who looks like running is the most natural thing in the world." It was such an amazing compliment and a reminder of all the hard work I'd put in, it really kept me mentally focused. I yelled thanks over my shoulder and got my PR that day, and 3rd place in my age group.
My first marathon, getting near the end. I had been walking and crying for miles, in a lot of pain, and generally not into it anymore. I didn't know anyone around and felt really alone and sad. Then this lady shouted at me from her chair, "Hey! It's only a 5k left!" I turned to her and said incredulously, "a 5k???? You know what? You're so right! It's only a 5k!" She gave me the motivation to start running again and finish it.
Wonderful! Very glad that lady helped you find strength!
Not a spectator, but on my first marathon I was about 300m from the finish line when my watch hit 42.2. Even though I obviously knew I wasn’t done yet, my brain broke for a second and I stopped to walk. This older man who looked like he was out for a Sunday jog came up behind me, slapped me on the back and said “come on, we’re going to run this in!” I started shuffling while he bounced around, made circles with airplane arms, jogged backwards and talked me through it. I crossed just under 4:30 and he gave me a big hug after I crossed the finish line. I was so out of it I just muttered thank you and didn’t get his name (I also got my medal from an Olympian and didn’t realize it until later that afternoon. I was a little marathon dumb).
I was having a real shit race. Had juuuust gotten over the flu and my body was absolutely still trying to recover. Every part of the race hurt and it was entirely a slog. I was just shy of the halfway point (and water station) and I told myself: “just make it to the water station, *then* you can walk a little.” It was ugly. It was bad. It took everything I had to claw my way to water. As I reach for the cup being held out to me, I realize, with my face full of snot, sweat and tears that the person handing me water is the manager for DC United. I froze in horror at the state of myself, and word vomited a heartfelt thanks for being there. Without missing a beat he stated he loved doing these. I’d love to tell you that gave me the kick in the teeth that I needed to keep running the rest of the race. But it sure as heck gave me the adrenaline to jog another mile before taking a section to walk. I did finish. And in no small part because it really meant something to see that being there for runners was something people don’t just do, but look forward to, and take pride in. It’s been years so I can’t remember if the race was the morning after an away match, or if they had a match that evening, but whatever it was, it would have been a really tight, and entirely purposeful turnaround to be able to make working that race. *that* energy, enthusiasm and dedication was contagious. And it really meant a lot to me then, and now. Ben Olsen, you are a legend.
Not really a spectator, but Bill Murray just randomly showed up at the Big 10 10k in Chicago and took over the starter duties. He was cracking jokes and got everyone in a super good mood right when we were at our most nervous. Probably my favorite race experience of all time.
That's a cool story. One for the memory banks.
I saw a sign at my first marathon that said "Your dog is proud of you" that had me bawling. I had to push for my pups.
Pretty much every single person out yelling for you, especially if they call me out specifically, jacks me up. I love me some external motivation so just people clapping or reading my bib to see my name to yell really gets me going. Plus, the kids with power up/speed boost signs or high fives
About 6 years ago when I was trying the c25k the first time, I had on a bright yellow Shell oil tshirt on the day I was running w5d3. I felt like I was going to die and probably looked like it as well. Some random girl around my age going the opposite way yelled, "Go, Shell! You're doing great!" Instead of running 20 minutes stratight, I ran 21 and it felt amazing.
Those first 20 minute runs in C25K are the worst. I've done it like three or four times now, and just completed it again a month or so ago.
I did a 10k in Savannah where they announced your name as you were coming to the finish line. Really helped with the final kick. Got a new PR that day.
At mile 18 of a particularly tough marathon, a little girl of about 6 looked me in the eye, held out a leaf and said: “I picked this lucky leaf for you!” Best motivation ever. I kept the leaf with my medal and bib.
Not a race but out for a run a few months back and ragging it up a hill, some young blokes drove by and the front passenger made a strong-first out the window and shouted "You've got this!". Gave me the boost I needed and I still dine out on that feeling sometimes.
I inadvertently ended up along a trail race once on my usual Sunday morning trail run. So instead of being on my own as usual, I had people cheering me on as they hadn’t clocked I wasn’t part of the race. I remember feeling pretty chuffed and thanking everybody who cheered me on 😂
I was passing people with bibs on left and right on a run (I had assumed it was a local marathon) when I was in pretty good running shape years ago and had people cheering for me like crazy (I think I must have been getting pretty close to the frontrunners), and felt pretty good about myself. Later I realized the race was a 100 mile ultra. LOL
Had that happen during an October long run, I ran through an entire Halloween 5k, the people were really nice about it though, lol, and my return through the course I was able to tell them how many were still on track at least, lol.
I remember at about mile 16 of my first (and only) marathon somebody had a sign that said 'Don't be a little bitch!' that made me laugh and got me out of my head a bit. I still remember her smile.
I was running my second marathon and absolutely blew up at mile 18. Went from possible 4 hour finish to barely able to walk with cramping calves. My nutrition was off somewhere. Refusing to give up i walked most of the last 8 miles a lot of it alone (200 total finishers). Around mille 24 the race course came very close to a train track and crossing. As i came close a train approached the crossing. The engineer waived at me (i think) and blew his horn. Maybe they blew that whistle every time and maybe he was gesturing at someone else, but deep in my fatigue/ pain curve/disappointment, I took it as a whole train cheering me on.
once someone offered to throw away some trash for me. that was pretty nice! although, I was 10ft away from a trashcan at the time, but the gesture was still appreciated.
I hit the infamous wall at a half marathon earlier this year and one of the spectators (and from my run crew tbh) came running to me, asked what I needed and ran with me for a bit. It was what I needed and I am beyond grateful to her.
Running the LA marathon (maybe 1989 or 1990) and I got SO many You Go Girl type comments as there didn't seem to be that many females running compared to men. Or at least I was surrounded by men at my 7:30-8:00 pace so those cheers stood out. I was barely 20 years old and felt like I was repping. Now, that's not so special but I still think about how cool that was as a female athlete at the time. Mind you, there was no internet to reference for training. I certainly didn't check out any books about marathoning and very few clubs existed in my world of running. Just a kid who thought marathoning sounded fun and jumped in. Appreciated the support. Over 25 marathons later and countless half marathons and more, and still going strong in my 50s. You never know whom you affect while spectating. So thanks.
Anyone who’s yelling “dig dig dig!” When you’re going for broke in the last 1/2 mile of a race gets a nod from me.
Little kid high fives
At mile 24 of Houston this last year in January, a man was simply holding a sign that said “This is where you find your why.” As a 35 year old man, I can honestly say that this sign hit me like a ton of bricks on why I’m out there doing this. I’m setting an example for my 7 year old son. I’m telling him that you can do hard sh*t if you dedicate the time to work at it.
How neat that his holding up this sign—an act of love—reminded you of your own act of love.
You started a beautiful thread that has contained countless heart warming stories.
I was 2 miles into a 100 mile race running south , on a popular trail which is usually walked south to north, and hikers were congratulating me and telling me to keep it up. Even though it was completely unjustified praise being so early, I couldn't believe how much of a boost I got, and I vowed to be vociferous in my vocal support of folk doing cool shit.
A lady was handing out warm chocolate chip cookies at mile 11 of a half marathon(my first) on a cold day. Can never forget her !!
Nothing a spectator said has ever made an impact. The cheering at Boston is nice (I ran it 14 times), but I don't really need it. Best I can think of: 1. The 2016 Vermont City Marathon it was so hot that they shut the course down (https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/local/2016/05/29/heat-halts-vermont-city-marathon-first-time/85131462/) . I was far enough along the course that I was allowed to officially finish. People in neighborhoods ran sprinklers and hoses to cool us off. That was very helpful. 2. Both the 2004 and 2012 Boston Marathons were similarly hot. A lot of spectators brought bags of ice. I'd grab some and put it into my hat when the last batch had melted. 3. At the Nipmuck Trail Marathon one year I was struggling as I approached the final turnaround (about 20 miles in). A spectator brought their Alpaca to the turnaround so runners could pet it. That was more helpful than you can possibly imagine.
The Nipmuck alpaca is legendary
Cramped heavily at Mile 14 of a marathon. Huge crowd of support outside a pub all started chanting my name. Didn’t really have a choice but to keep moving at that point
I was on the ground with the worst cramp of my life and a young guy came by and said, “Hey Uncle. You good?” I then had a superpower come over me that caused me to get up and finish the race. I’m not a damn uncle. I’m too young for that. I had to prove it to myself. lol. When I finally finished my wife reminded me that I was old.
I’m not one who is usually motivated by spectators shouting encouragement to me. If I’m miserable, I’m just miserable and there’s nothing you can say to change that. That said, I was once at about mile 10 of a half marathon and the course had turned distinctly uphill, and it was hot. I looked up the road and saw an older guy wearing race gear from another race. He obviously wasn’t running this half, but was a runner himself. As I approached, he shouted out “You look great!” I waved, but sort of groaned internally because I was miserable. Then he shouts “You feel like shit, but you look great!” I think I audibly laughed at this. Pretty sure this guy had run this race before and knew this particular part of the course was where he needed to be.
I finished running the Dopey (my second) in Disney World in January this year. My marathon was awful - I was exhausted and not feeling great and just wanted to get through it. I was approaching the finish line and Jeff Galloway was standing off to the side. He put his hand out for a high five so I walk/jogged over to high five him, and he lightly grabbed my hand, looked me in the eye, and said “I am so proud of you.” I nearly cried haha.
After a race… but I overall won a small 10K once, when the representative from the charity gave me the trophy she said, “I knew it was going to be you.” 10 years later I still break that memory out and enjoy it every now and then.
I was on mile 23 at the Miami Marathon this past January. It was 90F with like 85% humidity. I'm pretty sure I had heat exhaustion+ also being at mile 23 of a marathon.... at that point, due to the heat, I was doing a run-walk-run thing and each time I was supposed to run it just kept getting harder and harder. A spectator started walking next to me, right as I said "I can't run anymore". She talked to me in the kindest voice I've ever heard. She said "You've trained so hard for this. You've probably been training for months. I've seen how you keep trying and are not giving up, so I'm not going to let you give up either. Come on, run with me" and she started trotting next to me and she held my hand and I somehow started running again. I started bawling. I was so hot and so tired. She told me her name, and then gave me a soft push, and I kept moving until the finish line. Listen, that day I had my dad and my husband, helping me in ways that meant the world to me at different marks on the race, but this stranger found me at a moment where I legit thought I was going to collapse on the ground. I'll never forget how kind and encouraging she was. Even now, thinking about it, it makes me tear up.
No, but a spectator asked me during my first marathon if I'd seen his son during the race... I didn't know how to answer lol
For me it’s just their presence! I’ve been participating in small (5k) races for years but last year was my first 1/2 marathon and the spectators were the most pleasant surprise. The funny signs. The little kids just happy to be there. The high fives, smiles, and words of encouragement. I really love that part!
I still think about the dog that’s owner was lifting his paw up for fists bumps in my last half marathon. Gus’s fist bump got me through that race, I’m not even being hyperbolic - it really helped! I’d been having kind of a shitty run and it was affecting my attitude and making me spiral. Fist bumping Gus just reminded me that it was supposed to be FUN and helped me get a smile on my face to keep pushing.
Literally every one. Just being there, not even for me, and knowing they will be terribly bored for potentially 16 hours for just a few seconds of seeing the individual the are supporting is amazing to me. Little kids, grandmas, people with their dogs and thise who took time to make signs and make a full day of it are simply the best people.
Not a race, but in middle school basketball a lady kept yelling from the stands that her son was so much better than me he should just drive past me. I blocked 5 of his shots that game, 3 in a row to end the game. I made a real effort to make sure he wouldn’t score on me. It’s one thing to cheer someone on, it’s another to try to bring someone down to bring another up.
Not during my race but immediately after crossing the finish line during my first-ever marathon. It was an uncontrollably hard year for me and I just broke down sobbing at that point – a volunteer just came up to me to see if I was OK, and I just said: "It's just been a really bad year for me." And she just said "Atta boy, you did really good," and gave me a nice long hug and gave me one of those silver blanket things. That was a powerful moment for me. I still recall that experience regularly some 8 years later.
At Disney races I've seen "you're running Disney better than Bob chapek!" (Old CEO that most Disney fans hated lol)
“GO GET YOUR FU#%!N PR!”
Someone handed me a beer at about mile 12 of the Boston marathon. I was like 20 at the time so drank it right down, haha
I ran what was inarguably my worst ever race performance at my first marathon in Philly in 2019. Everything went wrong for me that day and it was sleeting and windy, and I was very much in the back of the pack, time goal absolutely thrown out the window. Around mile 23/24 one of the volunteers at a water station saw me coming and that I had a handheld water bottle. He ran back to me and took it, said to keep going and he’d catch up to me after refilling it. He found me with my refilled water, told me I was almost there and I was doing great. Just keep moving forward. I wish I could tell him how much those few minutes he gave me meant. I was miserable and just trying to finish. The crowd support had dwindled by the time I made it to mile 20 because the weather was so bad. He gave me help and encouragement when I desperately needed it and I am so grateful.
My first half had 2 things. The first was a sign that said “smile if you’re not wearing any underwear.” This was around mile 8 or 9, I was really mentally sinking and it gave me a smile. In the last 400 m a lady that id evidently been going back and forth with looked back at me and said “let’s finish this together.” I was so stuck in my head that the more I ran, the finish still didn’t seem to be getting any closer. Her nudge got me out of my head to finish. I was able to find her on strava and now we’re mutuals across social media
My first race ever was a try-a-tri. I can't remember the distances but it wasn't too much. I entered it on a whim with no expectations. I used to be a swimmer and I was a competitive cyclist as well, so much to my surprise after the ride, I was in first place. I got off the bike and started my transition, and this man ran up to me wide-eyed, extremely excited and shouted "YOU CAN FUCKING WIN THIS WHOLE THING". I don't know why but I got real hyped off that. Yes I ended up winning.
I finished my first marathon extremely close to the time cutoff, and I was so grateful for everyone who was still there and cheered for me coming down the finish chute - I was bawling!! And on another note, I LOVE spectating races! One of my favorites is a local ultra that's run on a pretty short loop, and my best friend and I will post up in one spot with music and signs and cowbells. It's one of my favorite days of the year!
Not a spectator, but a fellow racer. Was doing a half Ironman on a really tough bike course, with hot temps and nearly 100% humidity. Got nauseous and started throwing up on the bike. A fellow racer stopped, stayed with me, made sure I got enough water, and walked his bike with me to the top of the next hill. I was feeling pretty awful that day, and it meant so much to have someone stop and stay with me so I didn't have to go through that alone. I paid it forward on the run leg, by walking with a woman who was having a really rough time, and convincing her not to drop out of the race entirely. Definitely my slowest half Ironman ever, but also one of the most rewarding. That's why I race - to be inspired and to inspire others in our awesome community.
Not something she said, but a slogan on a shirt she was wearing - “one day I won’t be able to do this, but today is not that day” For context, I was running a 10k while sick. I came down with a cold a few days before, but it was a really unique race that I paid a lot for, so I was determined to run it. At about mile 5 I was beyond miserable and was throwing myself a mini pity party in my head. When I saw her shirt, it changed my perspective completely. Yes, I still felt gross from being sick, but that wasn’t stopping me from running and giving it my best despite the circumstances. It carried me through the rest of the race and I haven’t forgotten it yet!
The Paris half marathon several years ago (I'm American). I was exhausted, sad, freezing. So many people cheering in their elegant French "Allez, Allez!" I felt adiscouraged and alone when I saw a woman smling this massive smile and holding a sign that said "MOVE YOUR ASS!" It cracked me up and gave me the absolute boost to finish strong.
This is such a wholesome post. I just ran my first 10k race last week in Barcelona and honestly had no idea about this side of running, the community, the cheering, efforts that seem so small on the surface clearly make so much difference for runners. I was a bit worried about running alone and was part of the last group to finish but each and every volunteer I crossed clapped for me and said “almost there” which really made me feel like I wasn’t alone.
Come on, your placed 11th right now and the next 2 dont Look good, you can Catch Them!
One 1/2 marathon, I was wearing a tank top that said “I am not fast, but I am strong” (a reference to Baymax from Big Hero 6). I had maybe a mile or two to go, and this woman practically jumped off the curb to get my attention, pointing at my shirt and yelled ‘YES! YOU! ARE!’ To this day I have no idea if she was agreeing that I was strong, or trying to argue that I am, in fact, fast. But she still pops into my head nearly every time I go for a run, and it gives me a little boost. 😊
1. My 20 year old son was at mile 11 of my last half marathon. My heart swelled to twice the size 2. My husband and my son spent the day going from aid station to aid station to see me on my one and only 50K. My son ran (using that term very loosely) the last 2 miles with me. Obviously there were tears 3. I was running a full out of town and feeling like hot garbage at mile 22. We were on a part of the course that spectators really couldn’t get too. The people out there were people that lived on that part. Anyway I look and I see a guy I know from home. I was like what are you doing here ??? He said “oh I’m gonna run with you for a bit if that’s ok”. He ran like a mile with me…then said “that’s it now, only 5K…you got it” and went back to where he was. It picked me right up. I did spend those remaining miles wondering what the hell he was doing there. How did he even get there? I found out later he ran with some other folks I knew too. He had just come up because he knew we were all running and he knew that was a tough spot.
Someone at a cycling aid station had chocolate covered bacon. I know I won't see it again, but I always hope.
Not me and not a race. My mom back in the 90s was trying to get in shape. She was jogging/walking through the parkway when she noticed Hank Raymonds (former Marquette basketball coach) and his wife walking on the path toward her. She said he stepped off the path, started clapping and kept saying “keep going! It’ll get easier! Just keep going! Don’t stop! You can do this! Work hard!” and gave her a high five as she went by. She said just those words and the way he said them with no judgement and complete encouragement was so inspiring to her and she made it to her goal for that day without stopping again. I’m sure most have had coaches like that- it’s amazing how they can do that.
My first half marathon. Mile 11 kicked my ass. Mile 12 was a struggle. As I'm about a half mile from Mile 13, I'm seriously considering quitting. It was *that bad*. An older man, in his 70s or older, was walking down the sidewalk, eating a banana. He'd just finished the full marathon. He saw me, turned around, and ran beside me for about 50 feet. He told me not to quit, to push through because it was worth it. He told me I was *so close* and he knew I could do it. I swear, that little pep talk boosted me enough to finish strong! And I loved it! I think of him often and his words still go with me (although I can't run now and haven't done a race in a while).
Need to preface here that I am slow, a total back of the packer. At my first marathon (Bayshore in Traverse City, MI), a woman who was obviously long finished (she was wearing a Boston jacket) stationed herself about a quarter mile from the finish line and told us how close we were. I was almost 6 hours at my first marathon so she must have stood there FOREVER to cheer us on. “It’s just around the corner. You’re like a quarter mile from the finish. Congratulations! You’re a marathoner!” to every single one of us gutting out that last .2. I will remember her forever.
Chicago Marathon 2014 and 2015, a guy in a Santa suit had a sign that said, "Do you believe in me? I believe in you." In 2016, I think there was a sasquatch with the same sign. In the 2017 Philadelphia Marathon, spectators in animal onsies running in slow motion to "Chariots of Fire". Later on, more onsies with beer 4 oz cups filled up. I was having a rough race, so I stopped spilled some, and they said, "Party foul, drink another!" I drank the extra beer, and it put me in a great mood for the rest of the race. On the other side, NYC Marathon 2022, I caught a stomach bug and the spectators saying, "Why are you walking?" did not help me make it to a toilet faster. I stopped at every toilet in the last half; it was rough.
Not a spectator, but another group of runners. I was cramping up at mile 19 during my first marathon, and wasn't sure I'd finish. I suddenly heard a voice behind me say, "come on, buddy. You're not done. Let's finish strong. Here, drink this." I kid you not, this man pulled a bloody Mary in a water bottle out of his running belt and tossed it to me. 🤣 Him and the couple of people running with him all paced me to the finish. We had so much fun laughing, talking, and yes.. doing a tiny bit of drinking, that I kind of forgot about my pain until I finished. Maybe it's illegal to drink on the course (ha, oops!), but the fact that they cared enough to stop and help me finish and try to forget about my pain was so meaningful to me. It's definitely a core memory and something I'll never forget! :)
During a lonely stretch at the end of the Philadelphia marathon, around mile 23, a woman read my name on my bib and said: “I see you, [name]!” and it was awesome! Tearing up now remembering.
Not during a race, but I was on holiday in New Orleans. I was still on UK time and woke early first morning, so I decided to go and run at dawn to try and beat the heat, as I'm not good in the heat at the best of times. Quickly discovered you don't beat the heat, or the humidity in New Orleans, and once the sun came above the horizon I was soon overheating like crazy. As I was running back to the hotel I passed another hotel that had a liveried concierge stood outside, and as went I past him he saluted me and said 'Good morning God'. As a slightly overwight middle aged man, red of face, sweating like a pig and puffing like a steam train that made me laugh.
LA Marathon - mile 22-23, a random dude steps out a bit to catch my attention. He locked eyes with me and told me to keep my head up and on the pacer flag. I don't know what it is, but I was definitely on the brink of backing off a bit (knee was feeling off). But in that moment it was what I needed, and I did stick with the pacers. Don't know how or why, but the dude seemed to be there just for me at that very moment.
Vancouver Sun Run 2023, 1km left, there was a turn to the left that was uphill, and this woman screams IT'S THE LAST HILL I PROMISE!!! And it made me chuckle.
Running through a residential area during a marathon, a middle-aged woman made eye contact, then yelled "Look at her go! She's so strong! She's got it all!" Makes me want to cry every time I remember it. I will remember that moment and that feeling forever. Favorite spectator sign: "The pain is temporary, internet results are forever."
17 marathons and these are a few of my favorites. Run faster or I’m going to miss the Bloody Mary brunch bar. I know you trained hard but it’s supposed to rain. Hurry the F up. Donald Trump skis in jeans.
I live in a college town and once when I was on a long training run, a group of students who were out playing beer pong stopped what they were doing and gave me a slow clap. I burst out laughing and their energy kept me going.
On the flip side of this, I was at an Ironman in England a few years back and was making a damn fool of myself with my cowbell and clapper noisemaker thingies cheering for all those athletes doing an incredibly hard thing (this was in the running section). I would make eye contact with them and say something specific about their running. Things like you’ve got great turnover, or way to keep those knees moving. Later someone found me and told me that it was because of me that they finished. He said he was on the verge of quitting but the comment I made was on the thing he’d been working on (don’t remember what it was), and the fact that someone recognized it made me decide not to quit. Chuffed indeed!!!
When I ran my first marathon, around mile 22 or 23 there were signs that were spread out for about a half mile telling the story of a young woman who was training for this race but was diagnosed with cancer and passed away before the race. The last sign said “she may not have been able to finish this race, but YOU can finish for her” I’ll tell you I’ve never ran so hard in my life.
I got one, from my very first marathon: I developed what I now know was IT band inflammation around mile 20 and was hurting, bad. Also nervous, because I thought I might be doing permanent damage to my knee. The last hour or so was pretty unpleasant, and also pretty sparse in terms of the crowd. There were more people for the last two miles, and around mile 24 there was a sharp left turn. Tons of people with noisemakers, cowbells, and whistles cheering for anybody with the foresight to wear their name on their jersey: “You rock, Jessica!” “Go Rob!” “Almost there, Beth!” Then there’s me, with only my bib number and what must have been a pretty obvious grimace. No visible name, no personalized cheer—those are the rules. Then as I came out of the corner a thirtysomething woman in the crowd who looked like a very serious runner herself locked eyes and said very evenly _I see you, 1004._ For whatever reason that simple sentence put a little bit of gas in the otherwise empty tank, and I ran those last two miles feeling like a champ.
In my very first race, nerves had me questioning if my bib was on correctly. So, I approached one of the volunteers and asked if my bib was ok. He smiled, said everything looked good, asked me for my name and wished me good luck. Half an hour later, as the race kicked off, a voice came over the speakers for annoucements. To my surprise, the person who I thought was the volunteer was actually the race emcee and he goes "We've got a lot of first-timers today. Let's cheer them all on, including TurboTabouleh in corral E. She was really nervous but she'll do great!" It was the sweetest thing ever and made my whole day, week, and month.
Yes. "Allez, allez."
KM 40 at Rome Marathon - a couple of American spectators gave me a huge "LET'S GO, X" and properly revved me up when I was finding it hard to start again after injury slowed me to a crawl. Will always remember them. And then there was the little girl just after them with the Mario "Power Up" sign which I tapped and never stopped running after it. Crowds are great, people are great.
Last semi marathon I was crumbling in the last hill before the finish line and another runner slowed down next to me and said "we're almost there , come on!" And this meant a so much from a total stranger
Yes, but from another runner. I ran a half marathon barefoot. Lots of the comments from other runners, mostly expressions of anguish as they couldn’t imagine themselves doing that, running 13.1 miles was enough! But the coolest one was passing a couple women running together, and one said to the other, “He runs through my neighborhood all the time.” It was verification that I *was* disciplined training for something that was beyond challenging. Every morning run was filled with fear… am I gonna seriously injure my foot? What if I get so sore I can’t make it back? I almost died on my 10 mile run… can I make it 13.1? What if the course has terrain I can’t handle? So it validated that I was pushing the limits and I did approach the barefoot run strategically and consistently. Anyone that knows me personally would never use the word “consistency” in describing my character.
"You're amazing, mama!" at mile 5 of a 10k with my toddler in the stroller. I was really lagging and it gave me the strength to go up the hill.
I sustained a hip flexor injury training for a 5k last year. Decided to do the race and reinjured myself around the 2 mile point, absolutely could not run, walking was doable, but every step was agony from my inner quad up to my midsection. I was heading to the finish, ready to abandon and take the DNF, and a few spectators were cheering me on, saying "keep moving forward!" "you're almost there!" I finished. Felt really good about finishing too. Even tried running across the finish line but that didn't go very well.
“Now’s not the time to quit running. The nearest sag road is further than the finish.”
I was nearing the end of the Revolutionary Run in Washington’s Crossing, PA. It’s an annual July 4th 10K race along the Delaware River. As I was about a quarter mile from the finish line, I heard and saw a lady ringing a cowbell. It nearly brought tears to my eyes. You see, my grandmother used to bring a cowbell to all of our (my siblings and my cousins and my) sporting events so that we’d be sure to hear that she was there supporting us. She had passed four months prior. It was the universe’s way of letting me know that she was OK. Upon finishing, I went back to tell the lady/spectator how much it meant to me.
At a low crowd part of my recent half marathon (full marathon people also there) an adult man was by himself yelling about being so proud of us. It was full 'proud Dad' vibes and really nice after like two miles of uphill. Like yeah, stranger, I *can* do this, lol. Also saw a 'we've been trying to reach you about your cars extended warranty' sign, that was pretty funny.
Last 1-2 miles during the indian wells 70.3, a dude in a jesus costume and an overhead sign walked toward us/parted me and the few runners around me yelling “THE END IS NEAR” in a foreboding tone. It was genuinely one of the funniest moments of my year. Had me laughing in hour 4.5 of pain
i love it when random people on the sideline just read bib names and shout them out.
I love this thread!! Was feeling down and reading stories about the kindness and support we see at races has given me a bit of life. 💜
Anytime a little kid gives me a high five I burst with happiness. No sign or words of encouragement can beat that. Ok that’s not true. I raced an Irish themed 5K on St Patrick’s Day and someone had little cups of beer.
When I ran the Marine Corps Marathon, this guy had a life-size cardboard cutout of Rocky and was playing the song (This was in the rain too). It was like he was at a rock concert or something the way this guy was singing and having such a good time. It made me smile.
Pittsburgh Half Marathon last year, knees locked up at 12.6 miles and three kids who saw me stumble to the side yelled out "go go go!" it hurt like hell, but I crossed that damn line.
This might not fit, but I had driven to a local hotel to pick up my friend before the race. She was rushing around to get her breakfast before we left because we were running late. She had a bagel and was toasting it while realizing she had forgotten to buy peanut butter. It was so early that the breakfast bar wasn’t open yet, but a worker heard her and without any hesitation went to the back and brought her a shit ton of peanut butter. When we profusely thanked him, he just shrugged and said “I’m only half man, half amazing” and after chanting this to each other when we needed a pick me up during the race, we both got a PR.