Switching Gears for a Second

Yesterday I ran a half-marathon as part of the Baltimore Running Festival.  It was a great race - the course was difficult, so what really made my experience so positive were the volunteers and the spectators.  For some reason (probably because everyone who knows me knows that I'm a runner) I get a lot of questions from people about what they should or shouldn't do / what runners prefer when they are cheering people on at a race, so I thought I'd pull together a quick list of "dos" and "don'ts" while spectating.

First of all, if you're coming out to watch a race, you're AWESOME.  You make us run harder, faster, and stronger.  You make us smile when all we want to do is cry because our muscles are so worn out we don't think we can manage another step.  In short, you motivate us to keep going.  The morale boost you provide is invaluable and much appreciated.

DOs:

• Do be as loud as possible.  There's a lot going on (other spectators, other runners whose headphones are too loud, etc) and it can be hard to get a runner's attention.  This is your opportunity to scream/yell/use noisemakers shamelessly.  Use it!
• Do lie and tell runners they look great.  We all know we're sweaty disgusting messes and by mile 11 50% of us no longer have a spring in our step.  We look horrible... but it's a huge ego/morale boost to hear we look great.  It means someone is paying attention to us.
• Do make a clever sign.  I remember all of the witty signs I see during a race - my all-time favorite is from MCM last year "That's not sweat, that's your fat cells crying."  Clever, and I'm sure I'm not the only runner who smiled and chuckled to myself.  It was an instant mood lift when I needed it most.
• Do cheer for other runners.  I run a lot of races where I don't have any friends or family there to cheer me on, so there's nothing better than hearing some stranger yell "looking great, pink shirt!" and knowing that someone out there is cheering for me, regardless of who it may be.
• Do make friends with other spectators around you.  Chances are, you'll be out there a while, and as your friend/loved one who is running the race passes by they can help you cheer for them.

DON'Ts:

• Don't use light colors or skinny lettering on a sign - no one will be able to read it.
• Don't tell runners "you're almost there" unless it's the last mile of the race.  It's seriously demoralizing to hear that, get excited, then realize you've still got 5/10/15 miles left to run.
• Don't tell runners to run faster or harder.  Believe it or not, most of us know what we're doing and we're running so slowly (in your opinion) because we'd like to make it to the finish line in one piece... but that doesn't mean we're smart enough NOT to speed up when we hear you say things like that.  Comments like that cause runners (I've been guilty of this in the past) to push themselves too hard too early in the race and bonk.
• Don't be snarky.  One of the great things about races is the overwhelmingly positive atmosphere.  Don't ruin it for everyone around you.

That's all I can think of at the moment... Do any of you have dos/don'ts to add to the list?