If I ever get the privelege to actually be able to compete in a marathon I will be very greatful. I'm fascinated by the concept of actually running that far in one shot and want to know all about them. The ING NY Marathon is coming up soon and I have thought about going and being a spectator (at least for a little while). Just to see what its like, how many people run it, etc. But I have no idea what to expect. At what miles do you go and watch? What do you do besides stand there and cheer the crowd on? Do you start at one spot and move to others? Is it mass chaos? Do you bring chairs or blankets to sit on? Also, I just saw the ad in Runner's World for the race and saw that there's a pre-race expo at the convention center. Is it ok to go to this if I'm not in the race? What happens there? Do you get free goodies? Should I check this out as well? I mentioned the idea to my husband in passing, but the look on his face showed me he probably wants nothing to do with this endeavor. But I thought that if we make a NY day trip out of it, and do other things while we're there, it wouldnt be so bad. Or maybe I should look for someone else to go with. I hope these aren't dumb questions - inquiring minds want to know!! Thanks.

Yes - go and watch. I go to the Brooklyn 4th Avenue stretch (I can't speak for any other part of the course) - it's usually pretty sparse spectator-wise at the time the elite women run by, but it's lined 1-2 deep by the time the 3hr finishers start to come by. It gets very loud. People mostly stand - most bring some coffee with them because it can get a bit cold. For at least the 3-5hr finishers, as the place where I stand is around the 7 mile mark, the runners are still nose to tail - nobody's much more than a couple of arms lengths from another runner. If you are thinking you might want to run a marathon some day, I GUARANTEE you'll make a decision to do it if you go watch. If you go to the Asics website, they have information about where's best to go and the map has a guide to how to flit between different places on the subway: http://www.asicsamerica.com/nycm/cheer.htm

Go for it! I've never watched a marathon, but I have watched an Ironman triathlon in person (Penticton 2003) and it was amazing. We did move to different points. We spent most of the day, cheering and having a good time. (My tip from being at a race: take your own snacks and water. You may not want to leave your spot and lose it to get that stuff.) Volunteering at a marathon can be a lot of fun and a different vantage point as well. I was a course marshall for our local marathon this year. I'm going to volunteer again next year. The event is a fairly big deal for our city.

Wow thanks! I think I really will go. I'll drag hubby kicking and screaming. Maybe he'll get some inspiration to get back into it too.

I never watched before but backstretch was doing his first, and he's my uncle, so I figured it was a good time to start. I was near the end of the race, just past the 40km mark. There weren't very many people there. I was there for a couple of hours after my own 5km race. I pretty much lost my voice. I signed up as a volunteer for the next marathon the very next day.

We usually went and watched from Central Park, you can see it from lots of different vantage points - we did not sit, just cheered. I'd say just go to a location on the route that's most convenient for you, or, if you want to help the runners, go to a tough point with few spectators (the Bronx). The expo is open to everybody and it is lots of fun. You get free goodies, and to see lots of hot running gear. There's also lots of signs and noisemakers for spectators.

DS and I will be watching and cheering at Grand Rapids this Sunday. This will be his 2nd marathon as a spectator this month, so I'm going to have to have him show me the ropes. We will have signs and cowbell (at least one...can't figure out where the other ones from Milwaukee ended up after we got home) for the RAers running.

Yes,it is. Race day volunteer ATL Marathon 5 yrs running. Anyone running Atlanta?

I hope so, if my body cooperates. cewickbe, you should definitely go and watch, and volunteer if you can! Go to the expo, soak up the atmosphere, talk to the people there. Of course you can go, it's free and there are some goodies to be had. Then go watch the race in Central Park, you can see the runners struggling in the last couple of miles. If that doesn't motivate you to run a marathon, then nothing will.