Free high fives here
There was a running event here at the weekend. My sister ran the 10k and did really well! We had people strategically placed around the course to cheer her on.
The atmosphere at these events is always great. Everyone takes their responsibility as supporters very seriously by cheering everyone along. Someone was limping and everyone roared. No one was giving up on our watch. It's lovely when you see other people spot their friends. The crowd appreciates a good costume. "Go on, Cookie Monster!" My sister got a Mario mushroom power up from a random person's sign. My six-year-old nephew was yelling "Free high fives here!" with his hand out and everyone was very heart-eyes about it.
When I lived in London I loved going to see the marathon. For a few years it went basically along the end of my road. I liked to go early to see the very first runners - not just the famous people. Sometimes I knew people running, which was fun. Mostly not, and it was still fun. Get those clapping muscles going.
I'm not a runner, at all, so I'm always going to be a spectator and I'm always going to be super impressed by whatever people do.
As a participant I do some swim events. Without fail we can all talk about how cold it is, how we don't want to be there, and how annoying our wetsuits are. All camaraderie is good camaraderie.
Full shout out to all the organisers, staff, and volunteers at these events. Every single time the stewards and safety kayakers are delightful. And it makes such a difference.
When people have that common purpose and are all pulling together there's nothing better.