A Sweltering Chicago Marathon

Over the past several years I have had many friends who have trained for, participated in, and finished the Chicago Marathon. While it's not something I have ever considered doing, it's pretty amazing to me that anyone can run over 26 miles. It's a huge challenge and an even bigger accomplishment. This past weekend's race is making bigger headlines than usual. This time it's because of the weather. October weather can be highly unpredictable and oppressive heat caused the marathon to be cancelled early for the first time in its 30 year history. High temperatures at O'Hare Airport Sunday topped out at 87 degrees, making it the hottest October 7th since 1947. (Normals for this time of year are in the upper 60s.) Hundreds of runners needed medical assistance and it will probably never be known if the heat contributed to the death of one man, although the official cause has been attributed to heart problems.

Many are pointing fingers at the race officials. Saying that there wasn't enough water, that they weren't properly prepared, and that the race should have been called off sooner. I wasn't there. I will be the first to admit that I don't know how much water is necessary to complete that long of a run, let alone when heat indices are soaring above the 90 degree mark. But race officials should have. And sure, maybe critics have a point there. But if the race officials agree to take partial blame, the rest must lie with the individual runners. I saw that 10,000 of the runners who were registered didn't show up the morning of the race. I bet that many of these weren't properly prepared to run, no matter what the weather. But I am sure that others decided that it was just too hot. It's one thing to push your body to its limit. But it's another to put yourself in danger. And running that far in those conditions is just too risky. Obviously, I am not a runner. Mabye I would feel differently if I had trained all summer in similar weather conditions. But ultimately, it is up to the runner to assess the situation. If there wasn't enough water, stop running. It's better to be able to come back again next year. And for all we know, it could be snowing. That's just Chicago weather.

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