Spectating
The best way to get around the course is to follow the RELAY maps here: https://www.racepoint.ca/maps/rocketcity.html. These maps will give you driving directions from one spot to the next that will keep you mostly off the course and out of the course traffic. Additionally, the relay exchange zones all have places for you to park!
If you are more of a “hang out in one place and wait” kind of spectator, or maybe you flew in and you don’t have a car here…..or maybe you don’t like trying to navigate in a new city…ride the bus from the VBC out to Campus 805. You can have a wonderful buffet breakfast at Hops N Guac ($12), enjoy the mimosa and hot chocolate bar, or some adult beverages (you can do that, you aren’t driving!)…and watch off the back patio for your marathoner to run by! Then you can ride the bus back to the VBC to watch them finish!
Some tips to keep in mind:
traffic will be difficult if you are on or crossing the course
you may not be able to get out to the Rocket Park (because you will have to drive in on the same road the runners are going in on) or the Botanical Gardens (because they don’t open until 11am the gate “should be” closed)
the tracker app is tracking when your runner crosses the timing mats and making a best guess on where they will be on the course based on their pace when they cross the mat…..it’s NOT live tracking…if your runner stops to use a “comfort station” along the way, or if they decide to pick up the pace, they won’t be exactly where the tracker app shows them to be!
…you didn’t know there was an app? Yes, we have an app! Download they app now and then search for your runner AFTER they pick up their race bib (they won’t show up until they pick up their bib). (Google Play Store link) (Apple App Store link)
if you are looking for a physical map-we didn’t print them this year. Every year we through hundreds of then in the trash. In an effort to be more “green” we are 100% digital this year. Let us know if you hate it…we’ll go back to printing maps next year, maybe we’ll just print less of them?!
click on the picture above for an article on race spectating
one last thing—you can (and should) cheer for ALL runners not just YOUR runner! It might feel strange at first, but trust me, 98% of them love it! The othe 2% are probably having a bad day!
Okay, this really is the last thing-THANK YOU for reading this section! Spectating a race is MUCH harder than actually running the race! I (Dana) have done both-runners pay for their experience, they have everything laid out for them (potties, water, Powerade, gu, the course directions, traffic control)…you as a spectator have to figure it all out on your own, while you are trying to find your runner…you have to find your own sustenance and fluids and bathrooms….and don’t even get me started if you also have kids, or if the weather is not ideal!! YOU ARE AMAZING!! You are reading this because you care about your runner so much and want to support him/her on the day they paid for and trained for—and you didn’t pay for or train for YOUR day out ther. WE LOVE YOU!!! If you read all of this-please come find me (Dana) after the race-I want to tell you in person just how much I appreciate you!!