Chicago Marathon
25
Member
874 days
triyodie posted 2 years ago.
I was at the marathon watching my girlfriend try to complete her first marathon. Yes it was hot there, but the true problem with the race was the officials and their lack of preparation. They knew all week it was going to be hot, so did the runners, and they failed to have adequate water/gatorade for the runners. Those who finish in 6hr deserve the same respect as those who finished faster, and that wasn't given to them. I saw runners scooping the melted ice out of spectators coolers, running into gas stations and drug stores to buy water and saw a few runners fill their bottles off the hydrants the FD opened. (Just minutes earlier, the water being flushed out of them was extremely flithy.)
For an "elite" race, it was a joke. They should've been prepared for the heat which, as many others have stated, could've curved the number of heat-related injuries that got reported. I don't think any of us could do a HIM if there was no water/gatorade after the first 2 hours.
89
Member
873 days
Jetskr posted 2 years ago.
The officer who died was a man from Michigan and was running the race, not working at it. Over 315 people were taken to the hospital and I'm not sure how many were treated and released at the race. It was my first marathon and a goal of mine since I was a kid. I can't express the frustration of being forced to quite by the police and the ineptitude of the race planners. Due to a hip injury I was planning on doing a 4min run and 1min walk the whole race with an expected finish time of 4:30. I wasn’t able to line up further than 5:30 pace because of the number of people but managed to work my way through most of them. The water stations were overcrowded and the volunteers were doing their best to keep up with the demand but by mile 12 I started to run into aid stations that had run out of Gatorade and were running low on water. By mile 15 they were out. The people in the neighborhoods and spectators came through in a BIG way. They not only had their hoses on but were handing out ice, bottled water, and Gatorade they had purchased. Without them I’m sure many more would have ended up in the hospital.
I made it to mile 19, on pace, and was told to walk because the race was over. At first I thought it was a joke but more and more police were saying the same thing. We walked the rest of the race without a time and greeted at the finish line like we just ran the whole thing. It was extremely insulting to be handed a finishers metal and told “Congratulations for finishing the marathon” when we were forced out of the race. It wasn’t the heat that canceled the race, it was the lack of water and Gatorade.
15
Member
1300 days
triri posted 2 years ago.
Luckily, I got through the marathon before things turned bad. Congratulations to all finishers, also those who had to walk to the finish line. Slowing down or walking is how it works in those conditions.
The only good outcome from this happening might be more respect for the marathon. When people start dropping out between mile 5 and 8 as reported, then they are definitely not ready for the marathon. Also tons of runners with ipods even though they're not allowed in the race - a marathon is not a fun run!
I didn't see anything posted about this yet, so I thought I would start the discussion on the sad events of this past weekend in Chicago. For those that haven't heard, 1 police officer working the race died, and numerous athletes suffered heat exhaustion and other heat related illnesses. I had a 10K yesterday and it was really hot, so understand the oppressive heat involved. These things could easily happen in any of our triathlons, and proper preparation only goes so far in preventing disasters like this. I am happy that the race officials decided to cancel the race, which I'm sure was a hard decision to make, and surely they will be questioned about it for some time to come.
From the mind of Jeremy A. Dixon
"The HouseOfDixon"