Make some noise Saturday

Ellyn Ritterskamp

The sun'll come out tomorrow. No rain in the forecast for the Thunder Road Marathon, half-Marathon and 5K.

Maps and info are here so you can avoid intersections with delays, or if you are free to cheer, figure out where you can root for runners: http://www.runcharlotte.com/. There is also a story and map on page 4 of Friday's Local section of The Charlotte Observer.

I cheered for a friend in last year's New York City marathon, and she said the encouragement of strangers along the route made it possible for her to finish. NYC has a lot more runners than we do, and a lot more fans, but still. If you live on the route and are free to stand in your front yard and clap for a few minutes on Saturday, you will make it easier for someone to keep going.

Maybe me, but I will be coming through much later than the pack. I still haven't learned how to run for very long before I have to mouth-breath and then I get a headache from locking my jaw open. But doing 13 miles and change is just about willpower when you are walking or running very slowly. My folks will be walking some with me. So if you see old people out there on the course after they have cleaned it up, that'll be us. I just want to finish, even if the time is outrageous.

Thanks for tolerating some street closings tomorrow. The police will let you through the intersections as soon as they can. Just maybe check out that map, and go another way if you can. Or stay home and make some noise for the runners who could use your support.

Onward.