Cheering them on
Air Force photo by Spencer P. Lane
Air Force Marathon route guides Bobbie Heaston (standing) and Mary McClellan join other cheering race fans in applause for the umpteenth time at their station on the Air Force Marathon's last turn. They were there to help runners find their way to the finish line and to cheer. They and Joan Darding have worked at the same place all three marathons and have no plans to stop.
Route guides get their own workout encouraging runners to finish race
Volunteers cheer runners at last turn
By Mike Wallace
Skywrighter Staff, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
"Way to go!"
"You can do it!"
"C'mon!"
"You're lookin' good!"
"Yeeeeeeeee-hah!"
"Woo-hoo. You go, boy!"
That was a series of cheers given by three route guides at the last turn before the finish line - a little more than a mile from the finish line - for the participants in the third annual Air Force Marathon.
For the third year, Joan Darding, Bobbie Heaston and Mary McClellan, in their recurring roles as route guides at the race's last turn, jumped up and down, waved their arms, and screamed encouragement to the participants as they made their way to the race's end.
The story changes a little bit. For one thing, Darding went several steps farther this year: She "moved her feet at faster than a walk" on the anchor leg (more than six and a half miles) of a relay team known as "Jeepers, Creepers." And Heaston went way "above and beyond" the duties of cheerleader - she clapped so hard, she dislocated one of her shoulders and had to leave early to go to an urgent care clinic.
But we're jumping ahead.
Is all that enthusiasm helpful to runners? The answer involves chemistry and psychology. At 20 miles, many marathon runners "hit the wall," or reach a point at which their bodies have run low on glycogen. Glycogen is the material that supplies energy during endurance-type activities. Once it's depleted, the runners "go flat" - they're out of gas, their legs don't want to move anymore and their bodies are telling them to give it up. At that point, they must use all their willpower to finish the last six and a quarter miles. Many runners appreciate any encouragement they can get, and some runners find the cheers essential for finishing the race. A marathon takes dedication.
Volunteering takes dedication too. Most volunteers get to their places before 6 a.m. and stay pretty much in place for 10 or 11 hours. That's 10 or 11 hours of screaming.
"We scream at them just to see them smile and see their faces light up," said Heaston, who works in Aeronautical Systems Center's Aging Aircraft and Systems office. "The first wheelchair guy always comes back and thanks us for doing this. I've walked up the hill on Loop Road (the first leg of the marathon) and that's a long way. Just think: those people have 25 more miles to go.
"I was yelling 'You're almost there' to one runner who came back and told me I shouldn't have said that because it built his hopes up, but there was still over a mile to go. Most people like the cheering. We could remember a few runners from last year. There was a man who seemed disoriented last year; he'd lost his coordination. This year he just breezed past. He must have done a lot of training."
Heaston had her "accident" in the afternoon. "I could see a friend of mine running down the hill and I wanted her to hear me," she said. "I started jumping and clapping my hands above my head. I clapped so hard I dislocated a shoulder. It was hanging about eight inches lower than my other one. My fingers were changing colors. I left at 2:30 to get some help. The doctor asked me how it happened and I told him I was participating in the marathon. He asked me if I got knocked down or something."
Reflecting about her volunteer efforts, Darding, who works in long range program planning in ASC's B-2 System Program Office, said, "(The runners) are dying out there. Last year there was a man with bloody feet: the blood had soaked through his shoes. He came over and sat for a while. Runners say that usually if they sit down, that's the end, but he got up and ran to the finish line. We've seen lots of blisters, torn toenails, and lots of chafing.
"We're pretty hoarse by the end of the day," Darding said. "We stay till the last person crosses the line. We're jumping up and down and clapping when the last person gets in sight. We share our water, we give people chairs and we give hugs.
"We've walked people through the finish line. There're normally four or five people at this station and we talk (the runners) all the way in. One lady wanted to quit but we told her she could do it, she could finish.
"We look for people we know. One person said, 'I was going to walk, but because of you I decided to run. You were a breath of fresh air. People have finished and come over to tell us thanks for being there."
Heaston said, "Kids have signs cheering their mom or dad. People come down that road and look for us and we look for people we know. When the first person goes through (the finish line), they play the Air Force song. We tell (the runners): 'Hear that music? See those balloons?'"
About her own racing effort, Darding said, "I had a blast; I ran it all. It was good for me. I got so excited that when I crossed the finish line, I forgot to look at my watch. Out of 321 teams, we were 311th. We met our intent - we completed it. It was chilly the first thing in the morning and I had on a lot of clothes. I got more and more nervous and (eventually) got down to racing clothes. I took a bus at 8:30 to the last leg station.
"The people along the sides and at the aid stations were good," Darding said. "The music blaring - that was cool. The weather was good (and) the water along the way, the people cheering, (even) the chalk messages on the road: it was just a thrill. I don't remember a stretch that was boring."
After she finished running, Darding took off her shoes and walked over to her route guide area to resume cheering. She had gotten there before 6 a.m. and left eight hours, 27 minutes after the race began. "You'd think it would be a long day but it's not," she said.
McClellan said, "I'm a people person. I like seeing people I work with and people from all over. The expressions on their faces - I just like seeing them. I'm attracted by the excitement and being around the others. We have a lot of runners in the lab (Air Force Research Laboratory Human Effectiveness Directorate); it's a great place to see them.
"(This year) was just as exciting as the last two years. It seemed there were more spectators near our station this year. My daughter (Meghan, 10) thought it was exciting," McClellan said. "She had an interest in the first girl to run past. She understood the significance. She thoroughly enjoyed the race.
"A Thunderbird (member) came back and talked to us. He told us this was his first marathon. A lot of runners came back and helped cheer the ones still running. To us, that was neat."
So, will the three be back next year?
McClellan summed up the answer: "That's our spot. We're not giving it up till they kick us out."
This article was originally published in the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base newspaper, the Skywrighter, in 1999.