What words encourage/discourage you while racing?

The only thing I've ever heard at a race that I thought was uncalled for was "She's 50 yards behind you, you're not going to let a girl beat you, are you?"  I didn't appreciate it, it didn't help my run, it was my second race and I really wasn't racing against her, I was racing for me, and yeah...she was going to beat me.

Hate to hear "Looking good!"

I haven't "looked good" in fifty-three years, and certainly don't "look good" at mile 21 of a marathon.

Several people said to me "don't quit, you're almost there".  I smiled to myself and thought, "Are you kidding me?!  Quit?!  I've been at this for 15 hours....you think I'm gonna quit now with less than an hour to go?!"  But I just smiled and thanked them. 

I know they were just trying to offer encouragement.  It's the spirit of encouragement that counts not the actual words. 

You are a thoughtful person for trying to come up with some good phrases beforehand. 

For me, a simple thumbs up and a smile is all the encourgement I need.

~Mike

"Nice bike..."

Perhaps you should warn the volunteers before your race, lest they throw off your game

Aside from 'you're almost there' less than halfway into any kind of race, I don't really mind what the volunteers are saying. If you've ever volunteered, you know how hard it is to try to come up with lots of different and uncliche things to say to the racers.

LOL  You got that right!  I got a lot of these and just kinda grinned knowing I was nowhere near home!  It's kinda of embarrassing that they thought I was about to finish and knowing I was still almost 3 hrs out!  Yeah, good one to NOT use!

~Mike

I do too - at water stops, at the turn-arounds or turns, etc.

"You better hurry.  I'm drinking all your beer." - My Dad

I prefer general nose, like "Woo-hoo, way to go, keep it up!".  Just something that shows I am not out there alone.  If I think I'm alone and no one cares,  I figure I don't have anyone to impress and lose momentum.   I did that for about 3 hours straight at the Twin Cities Marathon last year and it seemed that the runners were buoyed by the attention.

These phrases are nice, too, because they usually don't feel like lying.  Like sometimes when you say "Looking good", well... as Bear says it's usually not very accurate. 

Rats.  I didn't know you were on to me.

I like "lookin' good," ESPECIALLY when I know they're lying!

The only think I HATE is "almost there" unless it's within 100 YARDS of the line... and then it's sort of obvious, isn't it?  The should pass out little pamphlets to non-athletes along the race course telling them to stop saying this.

I like yelling.  There are many people who appreciate it (though some don't).  I say, "DOING GREAT!"  "WAY TO GO!"  "KEEP IT UP!"  "IT'S ALL YOURS!" and yes, "LOOKING GOOD!"

And personalizing is great.  If you can see a name, yell the name.  "WAY TO GO LISA!"  Heck, any identifying symbol.  If they're wearing a shirt from their college or a charity, yell the name of the college or the charity.  At the Boston Marathon, I would even say things like, "NICE JOB, YELLOW SHIRT!"    I got a lot of smiles and thumbs-up, even at Mile 23.

slow turtle - 2009-04-27 3:52 PM I like "good job runners"  Especially since I'm at the back of the pack, and feeling more like I'm schlogging

I don't like things that imply I'm contemplating quitting. Because I'm not. I'm just slow.

oooh this one is great, agreed.  Calling someone "runner" or "athlete" or "triathlete" can be a big boost to those of us at the BOP. 

Yeah, I volunteered at the National Marathon and a lot of people either had their name or something silly written on their bib. Anyone in an outlandish outfit, or a shirt that said something funny, etc. It breaks up the monotony of yelling "good job runners, looking strong", etc.

"Are you still wet from the swim, or do you actually sweat THAT much?!!"

one of my favs.

*women sitting in chair during half-marathon yelling*

"I'm sitting in this chair being lazy FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!"


made me laugh for about a mile.

Here's why I will never do another women's only event ever again...

2006 Danskin Tri in Austin... on the run (it was June and it was HOT)

Volunteers: there's cake and ice cream at the finish line
Me: : blech: how about some water?!?!?
Volunteers: well, what about cookies???
Me: seriously, I will puke... what about water
Volunteers: ok fine, have water at the finish line.

and of course, at the finish line there were NO cake, cookies, ice cream, or anything even remotely desert-like.  I was pretty insulted, as I was already a competitive swimmer at the time and in decent shape.  I mean really, what about that was supposed to be motivational?

:smacks self on forhead: