What are the beat and worst things that you've heard yelled at a race?

[quote][BI like this one also. Thanks for posting.

Except for this wonderful story, the rest of these are far more amusing than I might have expected. For my contribution, I'll go back more than 40 years to my high school days. We had a very good cross country team, but the worst guy on the team was really bad, could hardly jog the 2.5 mile course faster than a walk. Coach told him one day he was the most important guy on the team, because when he finished, we all knew we could go home.

First 100 Meters of a xc race one of our slower runners sprints balls out to the front.

Coach: what are you doing?!!

Runner: I feel good, coach!

Coach: everyone feels good the first 100 meters!!

Worst thing: You're looking good.

Best thing: You're looking ....about like you should at 25 miles! (Made me laugh and actually picked up my pace).

In high school our head track coach who was the thrower's coach would come to our cross country meets. League was on the same course every year and there is a hill from about 2.6-2.7 miles to 2.9 miles before a flat straight for the final .1. The throwing coach would set up at the bottom of the hill and yell in his huge booming thrower voice "Don't be weak" at all of us going up the hill.

I could see how some people might think it is obnoxious but we loved it.

dsklfj;ldsf wrote:

As I ran the Chicago Marathon a great sign read.

"One More Mile"....not really something I wanted to hear that year...:(

In high school I heard way too many coaches scream like little girls at their athletes.

Why are you having an erection?

As I was running through Harlem in the NYC Marathon I heard a black spectator dude say to me: Yo, there's a woman ahead of you! No shame, it was Grete Waitz......

Best: While doing my town's July 4th 5K one year, the local homeless guy made an appearance and shouted unintelligible things while banging on a garbage can. I PRed by 30 seconds that day.

Worst: During track season, none of the sprinters would bother learning any of the distance guys' names, so they all just yelled "Go Distance!"

At the start of a 5k, some guy goes out way ahead of me yelling, "I feel GOOOOD!" After I passed him a mile in, staggering on the side of the trail, he says, "oh well, C'est la vie"

Sign on marathon course: "Worst. Parade. Ever."

JUST DROP IN TO SEE WHAT YOUR CONDITION YOUR CONDITION IS IN.... O WAIT ITS MILE 23 YOUR CONDITION IS NOT IN GOOD CONDITION

This is a great thread! I've laughed at least 10+ times! Plus felt nostalgic at least a dozen more!

Best: I had an irish coach in hs, he would always say these quick little sayings in a stern irish, but optimistic and encouraging voice. He often referred to slow runners as donkeys and would tell me "lets have a go" usually around the last third of the race.

Worst: My family yelling at me on the rare occasion that they would come. (typical overweight unintelligent members of the family)

best: guy in a gorilla suit with a sign "Run Human Run!!"

worst: mile 23 of a marathon -- "you're almost there!"

you might be gay

claps wrote:

The last mile of the men's Ivy League 5k is by far the greatest cheering I've ever witnessed.

Many of the schools do this thing where they clap twice and then say the school name. Since the camps are setup in different parts of the track, the cheering blends into on another as you move around the track

It's like:

clap clap U PENN clap clap UPEN...

...clap clap CU clap clap CU...

Brown does this thing where they just clap three times

clap clap clap...clap clap clap...

As you fly around the track in that lead pack, passing the different team camps, it's just awesome

Worst: Once during a poorly marked road race in North Minneapolis I took a wrong turn about 400 meters from the finish. I ended up running up a street from earlier in the course going the opposite direction of some other runners that were around 10 minutes behind me; I had been alone the entire race so I just assumed that the course looped backwards towards the finish. A couple of black families were sitting on their porches watching the race and I heard this fat guy yell "Man, dat n*gga goin da wrong way!" I eventually ended up finishing in 32 minutes.

sorry if this is a little gross, but a chinese guy who did not have much command of English was watching his son run at a track meet and yelled (as a guy starting closing in on his son in the home stretch):

"PUSH IT IN, HE'S COMING ALL OVER YOU!!"

Apologies, I know it's gross. But I was there, and I heard it.

but it sounded more like, "PUSH IT EN, HE CUMMIN ALL OVAL YUU!!!"

this wasn't something said by a coach, or was it even at a competition, but it still kills me every time I think of this.

Our coach had a habit of (during track reps), if he felt you were tying up or shortening stride, he would stand at the top of the straight as you ran towards him and slowly extend his arms outwards, as if to say "increase your stride length, don't be so choppy etc....."

This one lad (new to the group, obviously) was nearing the end of a particularly long and tough rep session on the track and definitely entering "sort, tight stride" territory, when said coach stood in front of him as he entered the home straight (obviously a good distance away) and did his signature 'move'. I was finished by this stage, as were several others, so we sat and watched (and laughed hysterically) as this lad ran up the home straight, trying his heart out, and brought his hands in towards his chest and slowly extended them outwards and ran the final 50 metres or so with his arms outstretched. I'm not sure I explained that well enough, but I defy anyone who would wouldn't have laughed uncontrollably at the sight. I always look back and wonder what was going through this lad's mind? "Why the f**k is my coach asking me to do this..." is my best guess.