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It is assumed that this is a good thing.
But I am unsure just how good....
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate people who are cheering for me. And I go out of my way to say "thank you."
But it seems that regardless the size of the event, the number of people cheering for me is about 10.
Yes- I feel that the size of the crowd does not effect the number of people that are cheering for me. At any given race, it is 10 strangers that go out of their way to cheer for me. And I thank each and every one if them.
This perception might be caused by a couple of reason:
1) The crowd is there to cheer for the 2 winners and also the 2,000 people who have no chance of winning anything.
People contending for age group medals and Kona slots pass by completely unnoticed. (And I am one of those people).
2) I only notice people cheering - when I am unfocused and free from pain.
This means I don't see people at during the transitions, at the finish line, on dangerous corners on the bike and during the last half of the run.
(Which is ironically where the crowds usually are).
This might have implications for both viewers and competitors.
Last edited by:
dirtymangos: Oct 26, 16 10:27
Not sure I get your point...
Crowd is there to support the wife / husband / kid / friend they went there to see. They cheer you on because it is generally boring to watch someone compete in one of these things and they want something to do.
Not sure most supporters even understand the "nuances" around age-groups and I don't blame them. End of the day, the AG categories are set up to keep people motivated, but lets be honest, if you're the fastest 30-34AG but the 100th overall, who really cares (but you, and that is fine, I do too).
I don't get your point either, but certainly in most races, even local, there are very few people cheering me on. By contrast, when I completed (as opposed to raced) IM Switzerland this summer, I had loads of supporters for some reason, perhaps because they had your name and country on the race bib. While climbing the beast at 7mph or so, a large crowd of Swiss fans having a picnic on the side of the road started chanting "USA" as I trudged by. And loads of people during the run gave me encouragement on each loop. Brits, in particular, were very vocal. I don't need that motivation to finish but it was certainly a nice experience.
You notice a big difference in crowd support when you do a small local race compared to a branded race. If you don't bring your own cheering squad, then you can rely on the volunteers and spectators to encourage you while you are hurting.
Brits in general aren't wired up right ... lol
The support on IMUK is immense and includes lots of fancy dress / chanting / drinking etc.
I think it is the only race where IM choose to promote it by showing one of the mankini style fancy dress men that are dotted around the climbs - they are on IM's web page and on the official video ! lol
WD :-)
That explains my daughter! She was born in the UK when I was living in East Anglia. Her passport citizenship is U.S. but with U.K birth noted. That made the English customs officer look twice when we last visited in 2014. I would love to do IMUK but the wife won't let me do race trips to England. We are going on vacation to northern England in Jun 2017 as weird as that may sound. All the Brits will be hustling off to Malta or down to Florida where we live. We just trade places with them. :)
I've found good crowd support and both local and branded races. I'm always surprised when somebody is calls out my name on the run and I travelled alone to the race and then it dawns on me that my name is on my bib.
Where abouts in the north are you heading in June ? I live in Bolton, very close to the IMUK route and I actually work on the shared bike and run route into T2. I am sure I could find you a loan road bike if your misses would allow ... lol
I normally head to Florida in December, but not this year ... :-(
WD :-)
I flew into Gatwick on the last trip but will be coming direct to Manchester AP this time. I'll be driving a counterclockwise loop from there heading to the Peak District, York, Whitby, then north stopping at a number of sites, then west along Hadrian's Wall to Carlisle, short diversion to Scotland, then south through the Lake District, on to Blackpool, and then back to Manchester AP. About 10 days total with wife, daughter, and mother in law in tow. I'm just the hired chauffeur! Typical trips like this mean I only have time run in the morning while the ladies are all getting ready, then it's off to see how much we can see. I have always wanted to do a fell race, but couldn't find any on fellrunner.org that line up with my schedule. But we are very much looking forward to it as we've never been further north in the UK than Alton Towers amusement park.