I have a dedicated cheerleader. And, of course, he'll be donning his invisible (because apparently shaking shiny ribbons in the air isn't very manly) pom-poms for my first half marathon with Team Write This Run. But just as I'm new to this distance, Andrew's new to cheering someone over 13.1 miles. This will be the furthest I've ever run, so I don't yet know which part is the hardest, where I'll need support and, most importantly, where my mini-cheer squad should be stationed.
So, experienced half-marathon-ers and cheer-ers alike, which part of the 13.1 miles is the hardest? Where along the course are you most likely to get the greatest smile per cheer ratio? And is a "Whoop" ever acceptable motivation during a race?
I'd definitely say somewhere between miles 9 -11. The first 8 shouldn't be too tough to get through, and from 12 onwards you can almost taste the finish line and that alone should get you to the end. I know I start to tire a bit between miles 9-11......a lot of miles have been covered but it's too early for that adrenalin surging final slog for the finish.
ReplyDeleteOh and whoops are entirely acceptable....I'd even say mandatory. Good luck!
Oof! Those 3 miles certainly sound like the hardest, I'll definitely plant my whooping cheer team in there. Thanks for the advice!
DeleteI would definitely agree, somewhere around 9-10 is a good place. I think the marathon finished Nick off in terms of watching, 4+ hours of waiting in the cold was his limit I think, he hasn't been to my last few races, it is nice to see a friendly face in the crowd to give you a boost though.
ReplyDeleteI'll make sure Andrew has plenty of provisions, then. It's certainly nice to have that person cheering for you.
DeleteI make Matthew come to all my races. I'm worried about Edinburgh as I won't have him there at the finish, massive anti-climax (who will feed me flapjacks???). Agree with the above - if you can have Andrew around mile 9 it'll be a huge boost. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteYou should recruit a 'feeder' to come with you.
DeleteRight, mile 9 it is. Thanks and good luck in Edinburgh!