Marathon Parties are one of my favorite types of parties to throw and attend. When we first moved to Hartford, mile 24 of the full marathon passed right by our home. We invited friends over and had a blast yelling and making noise to support the runners for a few hours that morning.
Sadly, race organizers changed the route. The runners were apparently dissatisfied with the course passing the finish line at mile 20 (too demoralizing) and weaving through the West End (prefer longer straightaways) among other things. So we adapted our marathon weekend celebration to include participating in the half-marathon.
Last year the route for the half marathon was changed again, separating it from the full marathon. There are now more opportunities than ever for homeowners to throw a marathon party – check out the current routes for the full and half to see if anyone you know lives along a route.
Marathon organizers made an effort to reach out to residents along the route this year. This year’s slogan seems to be the ever popular “More Cowbell!” so they passed out little cowbells door-to-door. They have also put up lots of signs at intersections so residents will hopefully be prepared for the traffic impact of closing roads.
Hopefully if you live on the route you know that this coming Saturday morning (October 15, 2011) is going to be more exciting than most. Now it’s time to take the next step – invite some friends and have a party! And even if you don’t live on the route, there’s nothing wrong with encouraging friends who do to throw a party. Think of it like a tailgate if you like. Some would argue that it’s a little early for beer and smoked meat, but they would be wrong.
Man, I didn’t realize they separated the half from the full route. I was hoping to cheer on a few folks but they’re going the other way. Bummer.
Sujal
Amy – We will be seeing you on Saturday at Jill’s right? Looking forward to it . . .
Sujal- yes, last year was the first time they changed the course and split the routes. In my opinion the new half route is a lot harder than the old half route- more hills later in the race and more desolation. I don’t know if they didn’t do a good job publicizing it last year or what, but the turnout for people cheering was really low so it was a pretty quiet run. Anyway…
Mandy- Yes, we’ll be at Jill’s for a bit, then off to work. Ironically I think I am going to bike to my first work appointment on Saturday because all of the roads I need to take are going to be closed and I’m not going to be able to get there in an expeditious manner. Fun times! 🙂
That is awesome, Bike Hartford!