Though football and baseball dominate the public’s attention as in-demand fall sports, the season’s cool, comfortable temperatures coupled with its scenic views make fall a popular of year for marathon running. Of the more than 800 marathons scheduled in the United States and Canada in 2017, more than 125 will be held in October, more than any other month during the year.
While determined runners spend months training to finish the 26.2 mile course, planning and executing a successful marathon race is similarly no easy task. Whether it is the 50,000-plus runner TCS New York City Marathon in November, or the 500 runner The Lost Dutchman Marathon in Apache Junction, Arizona, race organizers must go to great logistical lengths to ensure a fun, safe, and well-run event.
Consider just a few of the different groups of people that are present at a marathon: medical personnel, public safety officers, supportive family and friends, members of the media, fellow race volunteers and organizers, and of course, the runners themselves.
To communicate with these different audiences, whether to provide direction, make pre- or post-race announcements, or offer instructions during an emergency, race coordinators must cover miles of distance near and around the race course, a challenge too great for even the best trained athletes.
To communicate with these different audiences, whether to provide direction, make pre- or post-race announcements, or offer instructions during an emergency, race coordinators must cover miles of distance near and around the race course, a challenge too great for even the best trained athletes.
What's more, these audiences will likely be so focused on their unique responsibilities—running the race, providing medical care, supporting their loved ones—that grabbing their attention through normal human speech just might not be enough.
Megaphones are a great way to overcome these obstacles and deliver powerful and clear communication to all of your marathon audiences.
Lightweight and compact, megaphones can be carried in one hand as you travel to different checkpoints along a marathon course.
They also provide enough power to deliver voice coverage up to one mile away, which reduces voice strain and saves the energy it would otherwise take to travel to these groups on foot.
But megaphones can be even more than just a sound amplifier.
With on-board horn or siren functions, along with built-in strobe lights, megaphones also serve as a valuable emergency preparedness tool.
When inclement weather or emergency circumstances compromise the safety of those on the course, communicating through a megaphone establishes authority, and is sure to attract the attention of those in attendance.
Chicago Spring Half-Marathon Volunteers Direct Runners with Mity-Meg Megaphone
For the more than 5,000 runners that participated in this past May’s Chicago Spring Half Marathon & 10K, the day offered a unique opportunity to race down normally busy downtown Chicago streets and lakefront trails, offering pristine views of the city’s renowned skyline and nearby Lake Michigan.
For race personnel, the event posed a sizeable communication challenge: in order to ensure the race began on time, runners needed to assemble in their appropriate starting corrals before beginning so the course did not overcrowd.
But with thousands of anxious participants and their supporters positioned throughout the 13-plus mile race course, the prospect of providing them instruction without support was daunting.
Fortunately, volunteers managing the Spring Half Marathon’s logistics had help.
Equipped with the AmpliVox Mity-Meg Megaphone, they delivered crystal clear instructions to runners thanks to the Mity-Meg’s 25-watts of audio power, which blanketed the course with sound and reached thousands of ears at once.
Weighing just two pounds and featuring a comfortable pistol grip handle, the device made it easy for volunteers to speak while moving throughout the course, directing runners to their corral and ensuring festivities would begin on time.
But with thousands of anxious participants and their supporters positioned throughout the 13-plus mile race course, the prospect of providing them instruction without support was daunting.
Fortunately, volunteers managing the Spring Half Marathon’s logistics had help.
Equipped with the AmpliVox Mity-Meg Megaphone, they delivered crystal clear instructions to runners thanks to the Mity-Meg’s 25-watts of audio power, which blanketed the course with sound and reached thousands of ears at once.
Weighing just two pounds and featuring a comfortable pistol grip handle, the device made it easy for volunteers to speak while moving throughout the course, directing runners to their corral and ensuring festivities would begin on time.
