Following on from the Lee Quarry – Brownbacks thread (in chat forum :?),
aside from their safety roles (directions, 1st aid etc.), what's the preferred verbal encouragement from marshalls?

I've only done 3 or 4 non-competitive events myself, so when marshalling recently, found myself saying 'well done, great stuff, you're over the worst' etc., rather than 'dig in' (which I detested hearing while cycling). + giving a healthy thumbs-up when on the motorbike, 'outriding'.

PS while deriding any mates in the race, of course 🙂

sounds perfect to me g
appologies to the browncacs for not marshalling yesterday and for forgetting to tell you but i was on snowdon with lowey g

I shout whatever comes to mind…I figure as most folk have paid to do the race they aren't going to stop to punch me…so I give them some verbal that seems to raise a smile on their face…although it's borderline grimace!

I have a laugh with the racers/riders…I'm standing there freezing my knackers off so I'm going to make sure I get a bit of sport out of it…

I don't mock them or give them swearing abuse, but I don't tend to say 'well done' much either…verbal encouragement is what I do – either encouraging them to go faster to get away from me or to encourage them to hurry up and get back to my spot so they can get some more 'encouragment'!

you should try the Uni BUSA events 😉

Race "compare", raking slurry and mud into the XC course to make people fall off (super fly si patton though, and hes a top knob, so kind of expected)

"supporters" with air horns hiding in the bushes and behind the bridge crossing (cwmcarn)

90% of people find it quite funny, 8% dont (tee hee), 2% fall off in shock. 😳

and the best one i saw/was involved in on an XC race was on a paticularly long , swooping Berm at cwmcarn, where pretty much any speed could be carried through it, depending on confidence, there were about 50+ supporters with arm chairs and beers and rattles and horns and all sorts of paraphanalia, cheering everyone on, (you could hear them from right down the bottom of the valley).

excessive whooping and shouting was funny, but when a Leeds uni rider (they have a bit of a reputation for taking it too seriously) was spotted, everyone stood, perfectly still, in absolute mournful silence, just the gentle tinkle of the Jey bike clattering by.

it was a very "awkward moment" for the Leeds riders 😉

the good thing about tourettes is that you never have to worry about what to shout ! ! !

there were about 50+ supporters with arm chairs and beers and rattles and horns and all sorts of paraphanalia

You sure can't beat enthusiastic spectators, like the shouty Brian Blessed clone on the Bealach Beag last May. Bit different for the guys standing in one place for hours on end though…