I ran quite a few races of my own before it occurred to me spectate for other runners. I know, pretty selfish. It should have been obvious sooner that for all the great energy others had given me, I should show up and give that back. To make up for lost time, when I finally came to it, I went all in on spectating.
It didn’t hurt that my husband DJs for fun and we’re near the 12 mile mark of the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon course. We can just walk down the street, he can plug his equipment into our neighbor’s outdoor outlet (hooray for good neighbors!), and we have an instant party. We started this tradition in 2016 with just the two of us, plus neighbors who wandered over, dancing and cheering our hearts out from the first runner until the final pace group and stragglers passed through.
After that first year, we realized we should invite all of our friends, make some breakfast foods to share, and turn it into one big morning dance party. It has now become an annual tradition several of my friends mark on their calendar a year in advance. To say we have fun would be a bit of an understatement. Note our on-point kick line!
We recently took our full show on the road for the Carmel Marathon, thanks to a friend arranging to use her neighbor’s porch right off the Monon Trail, conveniently located at mile 12 and 25 of the course.
If you’ve found spectating to be more of a chore, or just never done it because it sounds boring, trust me when I say it can the best of fun. Here’s how to throw a great spectating party:
- Pump up the jams. Seriously, music makes all the difference. The runners so appreciate the vibe, but it just makes it fun for you too. We can’t all be lucky to have a semi-pro DJ husband with nice speakers, but a portable speaker (or old school boom box if you’re still hanging onto one of those relics!) and your favorite running playlist can work just fine.
- Make some noise. We always bring some cowbells and extra drum sticks. Shouting out encouragements is great too, but having noisemakers can save your voice from needing to do the heavy lifting.
- Make some signs! Whether you go funny or inspirational, these can give runners a nice distraction. It’s also a HUGE boost if you personalize signs for specific friends in the race. Props can be fun too. One year a friend brought blow up guitars to jam on.
- All good parties have food. Period. My go-to recipes are baked oatmeal and frittata if I’m hosting at my house. If I’m showing up somewhere else, I’ll probably come packing donuts. You can ask people to potluck style it and have people choose what to bring: box of coffee, orange juice, bagels, etc.
- Aid station bonus! If you’re feeling generous, you can provide extra aid for runners. Elites and early racers won’t go for these, but mid and back of the pack runners are often super grateful for fruit or candy. My neighbor gives out Dixie cup pours of PBR and a surprising number of people go for it!
Maybe you can think of ways to add your own flair. Go in costume, perhaps. Play some bongos. Oh, the possibilities!
One thing’s for sure, even if the gratitude isn’t obvious (since they’re exerting themselves mightily for their race), spectator energy can make a HUGE difference for some runners. Give it a try, at least once!
