Training to Support Marathoners

Those of us who stay on the sidelines and offer encouragement to the brave souls who actually choose to run 26.2 miles without a wild animal at their heels also need to train. Support is not as easy as it looks.

 Below I list a dozen training suggestions for successful observation of a marathon. 

1)    Get a chair. Especially if you are there to support a specific runner, you’ll want to bring some seating option. You will be doing a lot of waiting.

2)    Get in shape to walk. On marathon day, you’ll probably need to park a block or more away and walk to the course. You may choose to stay in one spot or move along the racecourse. If you relocate your chair, you’ll be making your way to the course several times. Make sure you are in shape to walk those blocks.

3)    Get in shape to sit. You’ll also be doing a lot of sitting – waiting for the runners at the start and, as the day goes on, waiting between runners. Don’t put yourself in the position of not having sat that long in years. Be prepared. Practice sitting. And, do not neglect the art of getting in and out of the chair or that all-important skill, reaching. You may need to stretch to get that beverage or a snack. NOTE: If you are providing sustenance to a runner, you’ll have to extend your arms to offer a beverage. Some simple stretches and weight training should get you in shape.

4)    Find a mentor. No one expects you to go it alone. Observers from previous years are often happy to help. Ask about their greatest challenges: positioning of beach chairs vis-à-vis the sun and wind; selection of beverages and snacks; and, most importantly, the location of the public restrooms along the course

5)    Start training early – you can’t do it all in the last few days. Training to watch a marathon should be an ongoing effort.

6)    Train regularly. Set up a weekly schedule. You don’t need to train full-out every day but do make sure you do some sitting every day. If you plan to stand up to cheer or to dispense refreshments, practice getting out of your chair: three times, three reps, three days a week. If possible, use the actual chair you will take to the course. Also, train in the clothes you will wear to the marathon. On race day, you’ll be glad you did.

7)    Don’t include a full marathon-length sit in your initial regimen. Start with something shorter. Interval sits such as a 5K or 10K observation can prepare you for the big day. Keep in mind that a lot of people are at the finish line cheering on those who finish the marathon in less than 2 1/2 half hours. It’s the people who come in at the five-hour mark who need the most encouragement. I always like to be there for the final runners. (My family members usually come in far ahead of the final group.)

8)    Lighten up on training the week before the big race. You’ll need your energy for race day. You might want to get a massage a few days before just to make sure your muscles are up to the challenge.

9)    Watch the weather report. A lot of the decisions you’ll be making in the days before the race are weather-related. Prepare for any eventuality. The weather can be mercurial. Dress in layers. Remember the weather affects more than your choice of clothing. In warm weather, you’ll want a sports drink. If the temperature drops, consider bringing warm beverages and hot snacks. Clothes with big pockets allow you to stash extra clothes and snacks so you can keep your hands free for cheering and waving.

10)   Check out the route in advance. Are you going to stay in one spot or move along with your runner? Keep in mind the position of the sun on bright day. If you’ve checked the weather, you can put the wind at your back. Look for a flat spot so to avoid the danger of a wobbling beach chair. Calculate your time to the next spot. Do all this in advance so you don’t waste precious minutes on race day.

11)   Prepare a script of encouraging terms. “Way to go.” “Lookin’ strong.” “Doing great.” (Even those in show biz should avoid the popular “break a leg” salutation in this circumstance.) Create a list of names. It doesn’t matter if you recognize any of the runners. There will be runners of all ages. Try to gauge the age of those that need encouragement. Common names for those born in the 1950s include Gary, Ronald, Linda, and Patricia. In the 1960s many parents went with Mary, Karen, Susan, Robert, Mark and William. In the 1970s?  Amy, Melissa, Jason, Brian, Jeffrey, and Kevin dominated. Popular names in the 1980s included Joshua, Daniel, Justin, Matthew, Jessica, Ashley, Melissa, and Amanda. Even those born in the 1990s might need encouragement. So offer a shout-out to Jacob, Tyler, Samantha and Amber. If you aren’t good at judging names, remember Jennifer and Michael, Christopher, David, and James are perennials. Shout these names and it’s likely you’ll provide someone with the encouragement they need.

12)   Visualize race day. See yourself along the course. Equipped with supplies for any contingency. Pacing yourself throughout the day. Staying mentally strong. Listening to what your body is telling you. You’ve done the work. You can expect a successful marathon experience.

 If supporting a specific runner, keep your eyes on the approaching runners. You'll need to be out of that chair like a shot. You'll see why training is so important. I learned the hard way.

Good luck. You've got this.

©2022 Jane Kelly

Things my mother taught me

As I've mentioned elsewhere, my mother did not teach me many domestic skills. I don't think she had mastered many to teach, but she made sure she passed as few as possible onto me. I am trying to think of one but basically I am useless around the house. 

But why dwell on the negative? Here is what she did teach me.

How to set a table

I might not be able to cook appealing food to serve, but I can set a mean table. My mother wasn’t much of a cook (by choice) but she could entertain. 

I scared her once when she returned from some afternoon outing and found the table set for a formal dinner. "Did I forget I invited someone?" No, I just set the table. She had to pull something together for us to eat. I wonder who got stuck with the dishes.

There is little demand for this skill these days but I don’t care. I love a formally set table. 

How to travel

Largely because my father, Richard “The Homing Pigeon” Kelly, hated to travel, my mother did not get to as many places as she would have liked. We did a lot of trips to New York (day and weekend), but New York was a short train ride or an easy car ride away. She wanted to make sure I knew how to travel via plane. So, even though DC was also an easy train ride away, when we visited, we flew.

We flew Capital or Capitol Airlines (I need to find the pictures to check spelling) from Philadelphia to Washington’s National Airport (now Reagan). I learned about taxi queues and doormen. Which brings us to another travel category: hotels.

How to behave in a hotel

My mother loved hotels. On our first trip to DC we stayed at the Sheraton Carlton which is currently the St. Regis at 16th and K. Its restaurant was the first place, and maybe the only place, I used finger bowls. On our second trip we moved across K Street to the Statler Hilton. Probably an economy move. 

Even on day trips to New York we often ate in hotels. Lunch or tea at the Plaza. Dinner and cocktails at the Waldorf. 

When we stayed the weekend, it was often at the Waldorf. Since the Duke and Dichess of Windsor (before all their faults were revealed) lived in the Towers, we had to stay there too. Eventually, my father talked her out of the Towers onto the standard-priced floors and finally into the Taft Hotel which he swore was more convenient to wherever we were going. Probably Broadway. 

Her love of hotels rubbed off on her kids. My brother went to Cornell for hotel management. I still am happiest in a hotel. With my family’s encouragement, I noted the number of the first hotel room I ever stayed in: 1410 in the Claridge Hotel in Atlantic City,  New Jersey. There is no plaque.

Years later, just before it was renovated, I stayed at the Waldorf. It was like time travel to a very genteel time. I had been in a super-modern Yotel a few nights before. I loved both hotels. I think my mother would have too.

How to manage my finances.

She taught me how to save but not too much or for too long. She would save until she could (with her little companion--me) splurge on a trip or outing. Okay, maybe I should have listened to my father more on this one. He probably wouldn’t have encouraged a woman approaching retirement age to move to another country for a year of graduate school but my mother would have heartily approved. 

How to listen.

Mine was one of those mothers who liked to talk to strangers. But she never talked at them. She talked with them. She listened. She might not have gotten to see a lot of new places but she got to meet a lot of new people no matter where she was. 

How to think about how other people feel. 

She once accused my father of being too nice but I think she was just as kind. I cannot think of a time I saw her be rude or say a cruel thing.  Intentionally or unintentionally. 

In my opinion, kindness is the most important thing to teach your child - even if she really can’t keep a meticulous house. My mother taught that lesson well. 

© 2022 Jane Kelly

Research in the Time of Covid

When I send Meg Daniels to a Jersey Shore town, I always need to update my memories. I have a lot of memories from a lot of towns, all from different eras. The Jersey beaches have changed a lot since my parents first took me “Down the Shore” when I was five months old. Learning what’s new is always challenging--never moreso than during Covid which is when I wrote Strangers in the Avalon Dunes.

I couldn't rely on my tried and true techniques. To see what’s new in town, I generally start with day trips to the locale.  I find places that I recall from earlier visits or, too often, I can’t find places I recall from earlier visits, putting me in a very sentimental mood.  Then, when I start to write, I follow up with a stay that, in the best case scenario, lasts a month. Ideally, I write at least a portion of the book in its setting. After I complete the book, however, I return for verification. (Not that an error or two can't sneak in, but that's a story for another day.)

Then, we had a pandemic. I had to come up with a new plan for the Avalon book.   

In Strangers in the Avalon Dunes, Meg and Andy enjoy housesitting a fictional home hidden in the High Dunes of Avalon. It is understandable why, even in a pandemic-free time--the book does not mention the pandemic--Meg would be reluctant to venture out. She is happy where she is, but feels the need to learn a little about Avalon e.g. where the grocery store might be in case she should ever get the urge to cook. (Spoiler Alert: she doesn’t.)

Strangers in the Avalon Dunes takes place in the early Spring. Under normal conditions, not everything would be open. But in 2020 a question remained: were the closings seasonal or Covid-related. Sometimes the Internet provided the answer. Often, it didn't. There was also a bigger question on the table. Would a business reopen at all? 

In the manuscript that I submitted to my publisher, Meg and Andy ordered a pizza. I had to write to my publisher and let him know they were going to have a long wait. I thought they should order from somewhere else. The pizza shop they chose had closed. After 30 years. To add insult to injury, the building had been torn down. That could have happened at any time, but during the pandemic, closings were not rare and tended to keep me on my toes. Was the closing seasonal? Was the closing routine? Was the closing permanent? What would the business be like when it reopened? When I couldn't find an answer, I sent Meg back to her beachfront house. And, really, why wouldn't she go there? It was heavenly.

© 2022 Jane Kelly

No Vacation for Mom

When I was a baby, and for at least half a dozen years before I was born, my family spent the summer in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey. Every year at Memorial Day Weekend, my father, mother, sister, brother and eventually me would arrive at a house rented by my father’s company as part of his compensation. At the end of the weekend, my father would return to his job in Philadelphia and my mother would stay at the Shore cooking, cleaning and taking care of the kids. As she liked to say, “Everyone else gets a vacation. I just move my job.” 

The situation might have continued but I, unintentionally, saved the day for my mother. Having been misdiagnosed, I would stop breathing, turn blue and, on one occasion, get rushed to a hospital in Philadelphia in a neighbor’s car. All this fell on my mother’s shoulders. My father was in the city. The next summer we all were. 

Summers in the city meant as I grew up, I was free to serve as “a friend.” You know, the person parents allow kids to bring on vacation so they don’t complain that they miss their friends. That is how I got to create memories of just about every town at the Jersey Shore (most at the southern end). I’ve continued to add memories ever since. 

I will admit that a lot of my favorite memories are old. For example, I knew little about current-day Ventnor when I started writing Greetings from Ventnor City - and I still don’t know too much. My fond thoughts about Ventnor harken back to childhood days at a guest house with my parents. I’ve gotten back to Avalon as an adult but when I think of Avalon I think of being dressed for cocktail hour in hotels that are long gone. I was too young to recall anything of Wildwood Crest. Everything I know, I know from old photos.

Throughout the years, I’ve updated my knowledge with occasional trips to many towns up and down the Jersey Shore but I know them as a tourist. So does Meg. I love learning what’s new in town as she does - which given the pandemic created quite a challenge for the upcoming book set in Avalon. That’s a story for another day.

© 2024 Jane Kelly