Tears as Man Only Cheers for Runners With Specific Name at NYC Marathon

A video of a man enthusiastically cheering on marathon runners named “John” has amassed over 7 million views on TikTok.

On November 3, New York City saw more than 55,000 runners participate in the marathon, cheered on by over 2 million spectators. One of these supporters was Blake Hudson, 27, who decided to cheer for all the men named John running.

Armed with a handmade sign, Hudson and his friends went “crazy” for nearly 1,000 Johns who took part. They even used the marathon’s official website to track runners’ numbers to encourage them as they passed.

“We used full names a few times but ultimately decided we didn’t want to scare off the Johns,” Hudson, from Brooklyn, told Newsweek.

As of now, the clip captioned, “best day of the year” has 2 million likes. Hudson explained this isn’t the first time he has supported strangers.

“Cheering for the NYC Marathon is one of the most amazing activities a New Yorker can participate in,” he said. “We show up to support everyone, especially folks who wear their names as they run.

“We make it a goal to lose our voices, and I’ve broken a blood vessel in my hand high-fiving folks before.”

This year, Hudson and his planning partner, McKinley Reid, decided to personalise their cheering experience by agreeing on a common name. According to First Names blog, there are currently 4,884,301 people called John in America.

“When we came up with the idea for singling out a name, it was the first that we suggested, so we just ran with it,” he told Newsweek.

“Next race, we plan to expand and diversify our name selection to cheer on even more folks in the same way!”

Hudson added that he would like to participate one day, “but right now I’m very content with our spot on the side lines!” he said.

The Impact of Cheering

Research published in the North American Journal of Psychology has shown that athletes and fans often see audience support as crucial for team success, especially at home, which can explain the home-field advantage.

In the study, college athletes performed tasks in front of cheering, jeering, or silent audiences. While basketball free throws were unaffected, jeers worsened baseball pitching, and both cheers and jeers hindered golfers.

The study suggests audience impact varies by sport, skill, and audience behavior, offering insights into the role of audiences in home-field advantage.

Hudson emphasized that cheering for strangers should happen more often.

“I’d love to encourage people to get out and cheer for strangers in races or just in regular life,” he said.

TikTok Reacts

According to the official marathon website, there were 373 Jons or Johnnys and 574 Johns participating, some of which have come across the November 4 video.

“This was one of my favorite moments of the marathon!!! Thank you!!!” said @johnbmccabe.

“Y’all gave me a big ole smile when I passed y’all yesterday!! It carried me for a bit,” said another runner who spells his name without the “H.”

Blake responded, “We quickly decided to drop the ‘H’ requirement, so hopefully you felt the love.”

This random act of kindness not only left a lasting impression on the runners but the internet too.

Another user said: “This made me tear up— the impact you had on them. I know [you] know the impact or [you] wouldn’t have done it.”

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