thoughts and observations on the Seattle Marathon

I decided to go cheer on my friend at the Seattle Marathon this morning by myself. This is the first time I’ve watched a marathon, cheered for a friend, and made a sign.

Below are some of my thoughts and observations(not exhaustive) after spending close to two hours watching and cheering (occasionally) on people:

• “Seattle is a very fit(!!) city”: weren’t we voted the ‘third-healthiest city in America’ this year? When a new person comes to town, I’ve heard them remark on how fit people in Seattle are. I forget sometimes because they’re often hiking in the backcountry, somewhere out of sight. But this morning at Green Lake, there were all there; running around the loop
• We have real-time trackers now! I thought I would need to do math to figure out proximately when my friend would reach the viewing spot, but nope! It’s 2024, we have trackers in the bib now!
• “Thank god my situationship ended 5 years ago”: I thank past me for trying out the “breakup-to-marathon” pipeline. I signed up for my first half marathon back then, and it was a great experience to heal through running. However, now if I go through a breakup, I don’t feel the need to sign up for a full marathon
• “Some of these runners went through a breakup this year”: Related to the previous thought, I’m sure there were runners who signed up for this marathon because they went through a breakup and turned to running as a way to process and heal. And this is only one of the many reasons why people run!
• “I wonder what the runners are thinking about?”: This is a question for runners of the Seattle Marathon. What were y’all thinking about at mile 16 and mile 21? Do you remember?
• “Can they hear me yelling encouragements?”: A lot of people had earbuds in—can they still hear the bells and cheers from spectators and supporters? I tried varying my yells between “Let’s go!” to “You look so strong!” to “You got this!” to “SUBB 4!!!” to “I want you on my running team” to “god’s bravest solider”. I was aiming to optimize for humor, brevity, and encouragement. It was nice when the runners smile and acknowledge the support as they passed. Runners, what are some memorable cheers or signs you’ve seen or read?
• There’s truly an alchemy in moving in communion with others! The energy on race day is electric. I think part of that electricity comes from being with a group of people moving toward a common goal.
• I could have used this opportunity to find future bae. Run clubs have become a hotspot for meeting friends and potential lovers in your 20’s and 30’s. I could have brainstormed how to orchestrate a meet-cute at the marathon. That also leads me to wonder—what are some love stories to come out of a marathon, specifically in Seattle?
• Running is for everyone! I was inspired to zip up my running shoes and go out for a 5K afterward.
• Big congratulations to the participants of the Seattle Half and Full Marathon! Y’ALL DID THAT!

It was really cool to watch people run in the marathon, witness both participants and volunteers cheering and supporting the runners, and be a part of it—all on a bright, sunny first Sunday of the last month of the year <3