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Patrick Ivuti of Kenya won today's running of the Chicago Marathon in a photo finish over Moroccan Jaouad Gharib. Both runners crossed the finish line at the same time, but Ivuti crossed 5/100th of a second before Gharib. But Ivuti's win, and Ethiopian Berhane Adere's defense of her women's title, were secondary stories to the decision by race officials to cut short the race due to the dangers they posed to participants by unseasonably warm temperatures. Today's official high of 88 degrees was the hottest recorded temperature in the history of this date.
As of this writing, one runner is dead and 312 others were taken to hospitals or treated at medical stations set up throughout the marathon's course. 35-year-old Chad Schieber of Midland, Michigan collapsed near 15th and Ashland. He was taken to the VA Hospital on the West Side, where he was pronounced dead at 12:50 p.m. The decision to cut the race short was made at 11:45 a.m. All runners who were not at the race's halfway point (around Halsted and Adams) were re-routed back to Grant Park as part of a contingency plan put together by race officials earlier in the week in case temperatures went up and runners' race times went down, as they did today. 15 extra cooling buses, 10 extra "drop-out buses" and tens of thousands of fluid servings were added throughout the course to keep runners hydrated and safe. Of the nearly 36,000 runners who started the race, 10,000 failed to complete the course.
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There is something fishy about the coverage of the Marathon debacle today. The Tribune online articles allow for posting comments. The earlier version of the story had 140 mostly eye-witness reports of what happpened today and they disappeared suddenly. And the quotes from LaSalle Bank and the Marathon officials DO NOT match up with the comments of the participants. My neighbor ran and completed the Marathon today and his observations were that there was not enough water very early one. I think we have a cover-up brewing to keep da Mare's Olympic land grab (Oops I meant Olympic bid) on track. If a heat wave in October fubar'd an event that's been on-going for 30 years. What would happen in a heat wave in August during the Olympics.
I have zero interest in this, but for what it's worth, I watched the race near the halfway point and there was a ton of water and Gatorade available at the stations, more than I've ever seen there.
I'd agree that the quotes from the officials don't match up with participant comments, since I was one. Early runners had plenty of water and gatorade, but later runners found several empty water stations (including the first two). Some of the stations were well stocked, but in this heat, the participants needed every station (some of which were far apart). I spent time crowding with others trying to get my cup under a volunteer pouring water (I think I only had gatorade available at a 3 or 4 stations), running off the course at Lincoln park to fill my water bottle at a water fountain, and relying on the kindness of the spectators.
Go to Eric Zorn's blog on the Tribune website and read the comments if you're interested in knowing more.
So the organizers and the city had a contingency plan. I don't think they shared it with the 40,000 PAYING CUSTOMER-PARTICIPANTS who paid $100 each to be shafted. 313 people, including one dead man, had medical expenses today because of very bad planning (negligence/maybe even malfeasance) by the marathon organizers and The Mayor's office of special events (I believe that's the city agency that signs off on public eventss.) Who will pay for these costs?
shouldn't it read runners' race times went up?
Blaming the organizers for every single hospitalized runner on a humid, 90 degree day is absolutely ridiculous.
Obviously the lack of gatorade for those who started further back is distressing, but many of these injuries were inevitable when a marathon is run on a hot, 90 degree day by people who did not train to run a marathon on a hot, 90 degree day.
not enough water?
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2296/1511840816_fc8c628e5b.jpg
Give me a break, guest 4, the death and sickness of the runners wasn't because of "negligence." It was because of an unfortunate convergence of events plus people who kept running when they probably shouldn't have. On the other hand, I wonder where these people were doing their training where they were so unprepared for the heat. I would regularly run 8-10 miles over the summer when it was in the high 80's/low 90's. However you look at it, it sucks and I feel sorry for the people who were affected and their families... But don't try to turn this into a lawsuit. (Though I bet there'll be one anyway.)
Someone will sue because the marathon planners/city shut down the race course when more than 300 people had already sought medical attention.
someone else will sue because the marathon organizers "let" them continue to race in this heat.
These days, everyone thinks they are a marathon runner!
There are tons of books and websites and dvds that tell you that you can run one with just a few months training. The guy that died was a married father of three. Why would a father of three risk his life running a stupid marathon, regardless of the weather? Being healthy is one thing, running solid for hours at a time is a whole different story. I feel sad for his children. I heard his wife was running too? Real intelligent.
My best friend Kaitlyn slipped in vomit and ruined her brand new Nike Shox.
There go the conspiracy theorists. From someone who has tried to train for a marathon (and whose wife and co-workers and friends have run several **drat**), know that there are crazies we've come across who try to run a marathon with their longest run being 10 miles or even those who have run one in the past and while out of training this year, will still try to run it. Add extreme heat and there will be problems. I was actually surprised that ONLY 320 people needed medical attention. I had problems WALKING outside yesterday.
There is also the X factor of putting your body through such toil that will cause a random person (or someone with a hidden condition) to fall over dead. This isn't the Shamrock Shuffle where non-runners try and can run it. This is 26.2 miles - it's such a toil on the body, heart, etc. etc. Read Sunday's Tribune about the heart risks even to those who have training.
So don't try to blame the city, the race organizers, etc. It's a marathon - blame the 26.2 miles.
Woodfang and JoeM500 are idiots. They are fat people who comment on these sites to make people angry. The fact is: There was not enough water. I carried an empty cup for four miles and the only water I got was from the sidelines. Around mile 21 the police were yelling at us to stop running because there was not enough water and they didn't want any more people to pass out.
Thank God for the generous people in Chicago. They were the ones who really shined. Strangers coming from the sidewalks to give bottles of water to runners, to spray them with their hose, to give them bags of ice...it was an amazing experience.
Seriously JoeM500 (is that your weight?)...maybe the guy who died trained for months in heat like this. He made it all the way to the South side which is in the 20 mile range with very little water.
It was an anomoly. October weather shouldn't be like this. The Chicago marthon usually is one of the easiest races to run because it is flat, generally a nice temperature and because there are a lot of great people out there. So get over yourselves and go congratulate someone who attempted to (or finished) something that is an amazing accomplishment.
Agreed that its ridiculous to blame the city or organizers. People know the risks of running a marathon in this type of weather. There were news reports that it would be dangerous heat for such an event a week in advance. You participate in something like this at your own risk. People should have the presence of mind to decide if they have or have not trained/prepared adequately, and then make a judgment call on running that day. Its hard enough to accomplish something like this under ideal conditions. It sounds like a lot of people simply weren't listening to their body and ignored warning signs.
I ran the marathon and even for those of us PAST the halfway point they rerouted us back to the park.
And as for the reports that there wasn't enough water and gatorade. there wasn't. At the SECOND water stop, around mile 3, they were OUT OF WATER. This is within an hour of the start of the race. They were completely out and many had to run 4 to 5 miles between water breaks, which can dehydrate a runner on a GOOD day.
I was nearing the turn south into Chinatown when they closed the course, between miles 16 and 17, and the police and race workers began yelling that the race was over, they told us to walk, sent us down Jackson towards Grant Park, and the FD opened up all the hydrants.
#11 and 13: Let's try to keep our commentary related to the post, not personal attacks or cheap attempts at humor, please.
Are regular attempts at humor still allowed here?
I finished the race, largely due to the fact that I had a contingency plan of my own, which amounted to "if you start to overheat, take a break". I walked when I felt myself overheating.
I can't comment on the lack of water because there was plenty for me (I was in corral B, near the start). All I can say that I was consuming double the amount I normal do, and it was obvious to me that if everyone was doing the same, there was the potential for trouble.
My advice to anyone who wants to polticize this or turn it into yet another reason to hate Chicago is to find something else to whine about. The Chicago Marathon is universally considered the gold standard for organization and efficiency, but they hold it in October and plan it as a fall, not a summer event. Unless you were actually out there running in the heat, you did not earn the right to complain about it. And if you were, you need to face up to the fact that the responsibility for your own safety and well-being is yours alone.
The one good thing about the weather yesterday is that it resulted in the biggest and best crowds I have ever seen at this race, and their cheers got us through it. The spectators are truly what makes this race so special. Thanks to everyone who came out, all of us runners really appreciate it.
I can't wait for next year! Hopefully it won't be quite so hot.
I think what is really interesting about this (and the boom in marathons across the country) is this sort of large-scale interest in marathons from amateur runners. Seriously, 45k people signed up. That is a ton of people willing to put themselves through 26 grueling miles.
I've read a couple of articles by professional athletes/runners that talk about how this is really not something people should take lightly. Their point is five hours+ to do a marathon is "finishing" it, not "running" it.
It really is tragic that someone died. I wonder how things will be different next year—especially considering last year it was 45 degrees outside during the marathon.
"Agreed that its ridiculous to blame the city or organizers. People know the risks of running a marathon in this type of weather. There were news reports that it would be dangerous heat for such an event a week in advance."
You are absolutely correct... there were news reports about the dangerous heat for weeks in advance. Which is why it's so shocking that the race organizers DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH WATER ON THE COURSE!!! That's unacceptable, especially in a great city like Chicago, at a supposedly world class Marathon like the Chicago Marathon. At the very least, people should be asking for their money back.
I crossed the starting line at 8:12, so I never had any issues with gatorade/water. But when you combine the fact that this heat was forecasted well in advance, contributing to 10,000 runners deciding not to even attempt to run, it's pretty amazing there were shortages at all.
The people were awesome though, especially in Pilsen, which is when the heat started to seriously affect me. I wouldn't have made it without all the ice and soakings provided me by the spectators along that stretch.