I ran my first-ever marathon this past weekend, and while I burned through the 26.2-mile course, my saint of a wife was left with the job of shuttling baby L (and my folks) from one stop to another to cheer me on.

Looking back on the experience, Powergirl shared with me a few pointers for other parents (men or women, mind you) interested in toting baby to cheer on a marathoning spouse.

• Scout potential cheering spots ahead of time. Apparently, Powergirl and my parents got lost on two occasions trying to find cheering spots. Her advice: Scout out locations ahead of time so you’re not furiously trying to find a spot with a cranky/crying baby in the back seat.
• Plan the day around feedings. Sure, it’s feasible to feed the baby “whenever” over the course of a chaotic morning, but everybody—grownups and kids alike—will enjoy the day more if you stick to a routine.
• Don’t try to do too much. The original plan was for my personal cheering section to stop at four different points along the route. In the end, they only made three (and at one of them, my wife was still getting L out of the truck when I ran by). Since it takes time to get a little one in and out of the car, pick no more than two stops to cheer and make the most of those.
• Build in nap time. By the end of marathon day, little L was exhausted with a capital E. In retrospect, Powergirl says she probably should have built-in nap time for the little one, even if it meant driving around for 30 minutes to let the baby sleep.

Do any of you readers have other tips for caring for/dealing with an infant while the spouse is running a marathon? If so, please share in the comment field. Some form of these epiphanies likely will make their way into a query for Runners World later this month.