Organizers must learn from race chaos
A few elite runners basically shrugged off rare October heat that turned Chicago's marathon course into a broiler Sunday morning. For the front-runners, the scorching sun merely added a few minutes to times that still were faster than most mere mortals can comprehend.
But for thousands of everyday runners and friends who lined the route to encourage them, temperatures that soared to 88 degrees by 10 a.m. turned what usually is a day of fun and triumph into a chaotic and at times frightening spectacle, with runners falling all along the route before organizers cut the event short.
About 10,000 of 45,000 registered entrants checked the forecast and stayed away. For many, that undoubtedly was sound judgment. But that, frankly, was not a viable option for thousands of others who had devoted months to training. They had disciplined themselves to prepare for a 26.2-mile run, and there was no way they would bow out.
Yes, runners who forged ahead carry a certain personal responsibility with that choice. Most knew the potential complications of running in severe heat.
But they also counted on an experienced and sophisticated Chicago Marathon organization taking the heat into consideration and providing adequate support accordingly. But for many participants, that didn't happen.
Facing criticism, marathon officials insist that adequate water supplies were available. That clearly was not the case. Some runners told of going as many as six miles without finding water. Television news teams aired video of participants lining up to buy water and sport drinks in convenience stores near the route. That race organizers can stand by their "adequate" water line in the face of such evidence to the contrary is remarkable. Officials say they did not expect so many runners to pour water on their heads instead of drinking it. That may be, but the bottom line remains that organizers, with heat forecast days in advance, did not take all necessary steps to make sure that all runners could stay properly hydrated. Alert residents along the route kept matters from being even worse by hosing down runners as best they could.
As for organizers, they further angered many participants by cutting the run short and steering thousands of runners off the course. That was frustrating for runners determined to finish in spite of the conditions. But having failed to provide enough water and seeing medical crews taxed to the limit, organizers acted prudently at that point. Had the race not been cut short, the number of those who collapsed could have been much higher than 300-plus.
One wonders whether Sunday's debacle might even affect Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics. There are huge differences between the annual Chicago marathon and an Olympic marathon, but publicity such as the New York Times' headline "Death, Havoc and Heat Mar Chicago Race" can't help Chicago's cause.
In any event, Chicago organizers need to draw up more effective contingency plans should they ever face another day like Sunday. Chicago's marathon was long a late-October event; bumping the event back by a couple of weeks again is a good first step.