...followed by silence. I get it, running is not the most exciting sport to watch. You get up at some ungodly hour to go stand around with a bunch of other people to watch your friend or family member run by you once (or maybe twice depending on if you feel like moving around a little bit), and they're gone before you can even open the camera app on your phone to take a picture.
But seriously, take it from a runner. If someone you know asks you to come to their race, they are asking you for one reason & one reason only - they want you to be there. You might not think they see you as they're covered in sweat and looking like they're totally in the zone as they come down the final stretch - but I can guarantee you that their eyes have already scanned that crowd and found you long before you realized they were headed your way.
I've always appreciated spectators, regardless of whether I know them or not. I make a point to high five every single person who puts their arm out, and I always flash a smile to the people standing out there wrapped in a blanket clapping their hands and yelling "GOOD JOB!" at every person that passes by. It's really important to know that if you go to a race to support one person, you are in turn supporting all of the other participants, too. Seeing smiling, encouraging faces - to me - has really made such a huge difference in a lot of my runs. You don't want to slow down even when you feel like you need to when you're passing a group of people cheering for you. It just doesn't feel right.
And I often wonder if spectators know how TRULY appreciated they are. In Disney, just seeing the staff members standing there long after their shifts ended with "volunteer" badges on clapping with a smile was enough to really really mean something. Nobody wants to run through a desolate course surrounded by nothing but other people trying to regulate their breathing and silently rapping to whatever music is playing in their headphones. To me, the spectators are what truly give races that endurance building, adrenaline rush feeling.
My mom gets very frustrated when her photo of me coming across the finish line is blurry - but just the fact that she was there and preparing for that moment means the world to me. I really don't care about the picture.
So next time your friend asks you to come to their run, don't roll your eyes and spend an evening trying to come up with an excuse. For a lot of runners, these races are what all of their training and hard work lead up to. THIS is their big day. Make a sign, find a unique spot on the course, and make the best of it. High five runners you don't know, tell the lady that looks like she wants to cry that she's almost there, and most importantly - support your running friends and family members wholeheartedly. It might seem like a waste of time to you, but I promise you - your presence at that race means more than you will ever know.
Keep running (and cheering),
Kelli
