As a veteran of about 20 races (including 10Ks, half marathons and now my second full), I have learned that every race is different. And, that's not just because of running different courses...no, you can run the same course and it will be a different race due to training, conditions and crowds.
While training and conditions have an impact, a runner can't underestimate the importance of a good crowd. Luckily, my second marathon (Steamtown)--while having a field about 10 percent the size of the first one (Philadelphia), had a crowd that rivaled the spirit of any major event I've ever been to.
Just like most races, they had quite a crowd in the first half mile or so. I first saw two priests apparently waiting to start their mass. Although many races occur on Sunday mornings, this was a first for me and it was pretty cool to see the men in their vestments cheering on the runners. (And, from the results for me and my other friends running Steamtown, they must have been showering blessings as well. And, if not--I'm still gonna choose to believe that!)
From then on, every town we ran through had people of all ages out on the course clapping, cheering and encouraging. I enjoyed bantering back and forth with them. And, there was definitely a mutual admiration society meeting going on along the way. I heard runner after runner saying, "Thank you. Thank you for coming out today." "Thank you for volunteering." (By the end, I couldn't talk much, but I still managed to give a thumbs up or two to the supporters.)
Often I saw a family with kids wrapped up in blankets or sometimes a single senior citizen--but for the most part, they were still clapping. Remember, I'm a back of the packer and they were still enthusiastically cheering at that point. All I can say is that they must be hoarse and have sore hands today!
When I went through large crowds of people and didn't have a lot of other runners around me, they still cheered for ME. I smiled and waved and at times felt like a rockstar! (But, no, I didn't stop to sign any autographs.)
Another favorite was the group of about six folks probably in their 70's with a boom box blasting out music while they sang and danced in their chairs. While I forget the song playing, I heard the same one repeated a number of miles later with a much younger crowd.
There were high school bands as well as a band of retired men all joining in to promote the spirit of the day.
And, the community offered up a lot of unofficial water and nourishment tables along the way. I tried to say thank you to all of them even if I didn't need of their services at the time. But, if I missed you (or you've done that in another race)--THANK YOU! While they were all great, I loved the one on the trail portion that had two signs listing all the things you could find at their table. The sweat was in my eyes at the time so I couldn't actually read the signs, but they didn't treat me as totally stupid when I ran up and asked if they had vaseline. (They did. I didn't actually need it but resolved to swipe some on every time I ran--pun intended--across some.)
The small town pride was also obvious. So many of the townspeople reminded the runners of what town we were in although signs also indicated that. I loved the gentleman at the entrance to Mayfield saying, "Welcome to Mayfield." It was incredible to feel some welcomed!
Then, there were the groupies who kept showing up along the route. First, was the "Awesome" woman who had a sign that said, "You are awesome!" as she showed signs of losing her voice as she shouted the same thing to every runner. Most yelled back, "You are awesome too!"
And, which runner didn't want to stop at the top of Electric Hill for the Party with a capital P going on there? They had live music and such a great atmosphere that almost made that climb tolerable. (Almost. But, heck it was mile 24 by that point. Nothing could have made a hill climb quite tolerable. The Party looked like a lot more fun.)
Throughout the race, runners with names on their shirts (like "Roadkill Bill" or "Say Hi Gary") or other defining information (like the guy who had "Steamtown #18") got an even better reception. (Note to self: put your name on your shirt the next time even if it means lack of a coordinating outfit.) One of my friends said at one point someone must have had a list of runners and bib numbers because they called EVERY runner by name. (I missed that probably due to my own very loud internal voices at the time.)
(Side note about "Roadkill Bill." I ran with him for a fair amount of time in the first 10K and really enjoyed talking with him. I don't know where the name came from, but I'm so disappointed I didn't whip out my phone to take a picture of him dancing around actual roadkill.
And, while I'm talking about other runners, for a while I ran close to a man who had a shirt from the company 3:16 with a Bible verse from Isaiah on it. And, he got lots of "Amens" and shout outs from the onlookers.)
So, marathon number 2 is in the books and I can say I actually ENJOYED the first 20 miles. (The back six--not so much even with the crowd support.) This morning, my husband said, "I haven't heard you say 'no more marathons' yet." And, that's because it was a great time. All the time, non-runners will ask why someone would willingly run 26.2 (or in my case 26.34) miles and this blog article hopefully explains a little of that "why." I'm sore but so incredibly impressed with the whole race experience at Steamtown. Next time, I'll have to take my touring bus and my roadies who can hand out my autographed pics along the way.
P.S. Steamtown also gets the top prize as the best pre-race emails! What a hoot--they often made my day. (And if you are wondering about them, guess you just have to sign up to run!)
Catch you later at the back of the pack!
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