You hear them before you see the signs. Around the halfway mark in the Boston Marathon, just seven miles before hitting the hills in Newton, runners pass by Wellesley College, where the all-female student body forms the course’s famous “Scream Tunnel.”
While the college students’ loud cheers—and high fives and smooches—give the stretch its name, it’s also known for its quieter encouragement: hundreds of handmade signs, all painted by the students by the request of runners and friends, hang on the police barricades.
DAA Industry Opt Out.
“When you apply to Wellesley, they have you look at this webpage called the Wellesley 100, which is 100 things to do before you graduate,” Kate Dolph, class of 2021, told Runner’s World. “One of them is ‘Cheer on the sidelines at Marathon Monday.’ But you don’t really know what it is until you experience it yourself.”
The women put in a massive amount of work to make personalized signs for the runners. Training Tweaks That Will Get You to a BQ, in 2011, the students began taking requests for custom signs via Facebook. The poster copy and design could be as general or specific as the runners and loved ones wanted—anything from “Go Mom!” to “Run like your husband just saw the Target bill.” Over the years, the number of sign requests has shot up.
“We had 650 sign requests this year,” Dolph said. “We were supposed to cap it at 450, but 650 it is.”
Once the sign requests come in from Facebook, hundreds of students assist in dividing and conquering, dropping in around 7 p.m. at Wellesley’s Munger Hall every night for the two weeks before Patriots’ Day to help design the signs. The sign supplies—which include hundreds of paint markers (which are more visible from afar) and poster paper—are paid for mostly by the students, as well as a few alumni and anonymous donors. At 7 a.m. on Marathon Monday, the students head out to tape all of the signs to the police barricades.
The time and money involved in making the posters is a small price to pay for the joy the Scream Tunnel gives runners, the girls said.
“I like to think about the story [behind] how someone gets to run a marathon and the mental fortitude it takes to do that,” Carolina Jiménez, class of 2021, told Runner’s World. “What’s going to motivate them is really interesting to me.”
Jiménez thinks that the Scream Tunnel is in a great position for motivating runners. “I feel like it’s definitely where they can hit a wall, and it gives them something to look forward to,” she said. “[The sign] helps sustain you for the last half, and can be really important in reminding you that you just have to keep going.”
Many marathoners are also motivated by another Scream Tunnel tradition: the kisses and high fives from the Wellesley students themselves. After making all of the requested signs, the girls make their own “kiss me” posters to hold. On race day, they give out smooches to any and all runners who need a little extra boost.
“My sophomore year, I kissed about 20 people,” Rachel Speyer Bascon, a Boston native and senior at Wellesley, told Runner’s World.
“I’ve gotten upwards of 200,” Jordanne Stobes-Bargara, also a senior, told Runner’s World. “What makes me most proud is that 20 of them were female. I really focused on getting eye contact to draw them in.”
While some kisses are on the lips, the majority of them are pecks on the cheek. “It’s a lot of sweaty cheeks,” Speyer Bascon said. “So not too many germs are transferred.”
“I’ve learned not to give high fives to people with gloves,” Stobes-Bargara added. “Their gloves get real sweaty. So when they give a high five after they’ve done 13 miles, it’s pretty gross.”
Rain can also make for soggy gloves and wet posters, but no matter The Psychology Behind Runners’ Obsession With BQs, Boston Red Sox Manager Completes Half Marathon.
“Last year was even more enjoyable, because there were slightly less people screaming, so the ones who were out there were even more out there,” Stobes-Bargara said. “And I think the runners appreciated us being there even more. I’m going to make my sign on cardboard this time, so it won’t get soggy if it rains again.”
