I have never run a marathon, and I want to be upfront that I never will. But I have stood on a sidewalk with a coffee and a poster board, and I’m telling you that’s a sport too. The runners bring the legs. The crowd brings the jokes, and good marathon sign ideas are the difference between mile twenty feeling like death and mile twenty feeling like death with a chuckle. These are the folks doing the real work out there, arms up, mostly sitting down in between.
Cheaper per mile, to be fair.
Save
Fear is a legal performance enhancer.
Save
One of those predictions is realistic.
Save
Dread is free and you can do it lying down.
Save
Subtle as a cowbell.
Save
Inspirational and medically accurate.
Save
The computah is doing its best.
Save
Fifty thousand people and not one answer.
Save
Low bar, lovingly set.
Save
Sir, they are busy.
Save
Faster, cheaper, and you get to sit.
Save
Manifesting, with a paint marker.
Save
The rats would like a recount.
Save
Evan found another gear and a new fear.
Save
"Allegedly" is doing the legal work.
Save
Nobody knows Billy and everybody understood.
Save
Self awareness, held overhead.
Save
Momager energy at mile 16.
SaveMarathon sign ideas
Read More
My favorite ones don’t encourage anybody. They question the whole decision. Somebody is out there on mile nineteen, falling apart, and a stranger holds up a sign that basically says “you paid for this, and the train is right there.” That’s not support, that’s an intervention. Funny marathon signs land because the runner has no breath left to argue.
Then you’ve got the local material, and this is where a city shows you who it is. Sports teams, rats, a cookie shop that may or may not have closed. I respect a sign you’d need to live within six blocks to understand. The best marathon signs are basically neighborhood gossip held over somebody’s head, and I once stood next to a man who explained his to every runner who passed. Nobody stopped.
I have to be honest about the last group, because I’m in it. Some people came to be seen. They made a sign about how much they love attention, they’re holding it higher than everyone else, and they have not looked at a runner in an hour. I made a poster for my cousin’s 5K one time and spent the whole race making sure it was in the photos. Funny race signs are a team effort, and some of us are on our own team.
Here’s what gets me about the whole thing. Twenty six miles is a ridiculous distance, everybody knows it’s ridiculous, and the signs are the only part of the day willing to say so. A banner that says “you’re a champion” bounces right off a tired person. A piece of cardboard that says “why are you like this” gets a laugh, and a laugh is worth about half a mile.
So the crowd shows up with markers and the worst handwriting you’ve ever seen, for people they mostly don’t know. That part moves me a little, and I don’t love admitting it. A stranger stayed up late with a poster board so another stranger could smile for two seconds at the hardest part of their morning. I can’t run to my own mailbox. But I could do that, and next year I just might.
They run. We heckle. Everybody finishes.
If you enjoyed watching people suffer politely, stick around. Our funny NYC marathon signs from race day have even more cardboard wisdom, and the running memes are for anybody who signed up for a race after two drinks. There are also funny signs from stores, yards, and offices that raise more questions than they answer, plus plenty of gym memes. No training required. Just scroll at a comfortable pace.
Read Memes.
Get Paid.
The only newsletter that pays you to read it.
A daily meme recap, and every week one subscriber gets paid.
How it worksWho needs to see this?
Send it to the friend who’ll laugh the hardest, or post it for everyone.
