Official MCM Cheer Squad

For I don’t know what year in a row, I was out with friends cheering at the Marine Corps Marathon.  If you’re a local and haven’t done this, I highly recommend it.  If you’re not a local, come cheer with me!  The MCM Cheer Squad can’t be beat!  Or cheer at a local-to-you race.  So much fun.

One thing we make a point to do is stay there for the slowest runners.  We park ourselves just as runners come off the dreaded bridge.  We’re usually there for most of the 10k runners (though not the super fast people) and then every single one of the marathon runners who beats the bridge.  We also make sure that we save snacks for those runners.  Because no one needs animal crackers or cheese balls more than runners who are gutting it out.

This year, we had beer and what were essentially plastic shot glasses.  Not good beer by any means – Natural Light and Bud Light.  But the looks on people’s faces as they realized that there was beer to be had… it was glorious and clearly worth it.  By the late runners, people were shocked we were giving things away.  Which made me wonder if they had rarely seen people out handing out treats.  The slow runners need love too, people!  The looks on their faces makes it entirely worth it.

What were the winning snacks?  The pretzels were a huge hit, as were the cheese balls (good thinking, Liz!).  Chocolate was always a win.  People really wanted mini-Snickers, but I could only find a mixed bag, so there were also Milky Way bars and Twix bars.  A close second, I’m sure.

You just never know what will taste good after 20+ miles of running, I guess.

Congrats to all the MCM runners, regardless of your finish time or even if you finished.  You showed up, and that is awesome!