Here are some of the most hilarious and downright best signs from the 2025 NYC Marathon

New Yorkers will cheer for anyone running 26.2 miles, but they’ll roast you a little while doing it. The 2025 TCS New York City Marathon brought out more than 59,000 runners and two million spectators, and while the pros put on a masterclass—Hellen Obiri shattered a 22-year-old course record, Benson Kipruto won by a blink and Marcel Hug and Susannah Scaroni continued their wheelchair-division dominance—the sidelines delivered their own kind of glory.

Because, here, marathon day isn’t just about split times and mile-markers. It’s also about unhinged encouragement printed on neon poster boards. By mile three, runners were greeted with the kind of pep talks that sound suspiciously like taunts; by mile 20, hydration was optional, but sarcasm was in endless supply.

This city trains all year for the spectator-sign-Olympics and, in 2025, creativity did not disappoint. Think jokes about exes, signs bargaining with carbs, earnest support that turned slightly feral and at least one poster politely reminding runners that “you paid to do this.”

So before you ice your knees or pretend you “totally might run next year,” enjoy the true heroics: the funniest and most unfiltered signs from the 2025 NYC Marathon course.