dmarc117 Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 Nobody forced anyone to runMarathoners can blame only selves Mike Downey In the wake of the news October 9, 2007 Hey, don't blame the city of Chicago if you were too tired and too hot Sunday while running a marathon. And don't blame sponsor LaSalle Bank if you were weak from thirst and couldn't get enough to drink. You've got nobody to blame but yourselves. If you are foolhardy enough to run a marathon when the temperature outdoors is up to 88 degrees, then it is your fault, no one else's. Nearly 10,000 of the people who filed entries for this 30th annual race were smart enough not to run it. It is as idiotic to run more than 26 miles in a brutal and potentially lethal heat as it is to play golf in a thunderstorm. No one made you run. No one bought tickets to see you compete, so you were under no obligation. This wasn't a football game, where paying customers have a right to expect athletes to play whether it is in 100-degree heat or in fog or snow. Of the 45,000 who intended to take part in the city's marathon, only 35,867 actually showed up to run. The ones who did not showed good sense. Some of the premier runners needed to go out there because this is how they make a living, competing for prize money. Marathon running for them is an occupation, not recreation. But thousands of others run because it is fun to run. Or because you train for a race for a long time and you look forward to being there. Chicago's temperature soared nearly to a tropical 90, yet those of you who ran ignored the risks. You knew the pavement would be sizzling like a griddle. You knew a long run on a day like this would be hard on your feet, legs, stomach, mind and heart. You ran anyway. The city just as easily on an October morning could have had lightning bolts in the sky, or a torrential rain, or a blizzard. Chicago has had many an October day when the thermometer has read 8 instead of 88. On such a day, you would have looked at the forecast on TV or in your newspaper, then looked out your window and said, "Not today, man." Nevertheless, 35,867 of you hit the streets for this race. And only 24,933 were able to finish it because Chicago began running short of drinking water, ambulances, paramedics, doctors, volunteers, good Samaritans and cops. There were tragic results. A young man died, an off-duty police officer from Michigan. At least 300 others reportedly had to be rushed to hospitals and first-aid tents. "They didn't plan for it," one runner harped about Chicago's race authorities. "They clearly weren't prepared," another said on TV. Wrong. Totally wrong. "They," the marathon organizers, cautioned runners all week long that the temperature for Sunday was going to be hot. Not "unseasonably warm"—hot. They begged runners to take extra precautions. They stocked more than 200,000 more servings of water than usual. They made as many of the necessary preparations as possible. But when 35,000 people jump off a ledge, you can only catch so many in safety nets. The rest are going to fall. This is a professional competition that the public sometimes confuses with a company picnic. The runners who staged a neck-and-neck finish—Patrick Ivuti and Jaouad Gharib for the men, Berhane Adere and Adriana Pirtea for the women—were here to win, not merely to run. For the rest of you, did the words "hottest day in Chicago's 30-year race history" not even register? How many of you ran at your normal pace or faster, totally at your own peril, caught up in the thrill of the chase? Were you among the first to crab later about how the race let you down? By the time officials put a premature stop to this 8 a.m. race at about 11:35, had it not yet dawned on you that maybe you should already have walked off the course and lived to run on it another day? "They ought to move it to a later date," one runner whined on TV. Yeah, how about November next time? Then you could run it in a blizzard and blame Chicago for your case of frostbite. Sympathy for the fallen is fine, but the sponsors weren't responsible for making them run. No one stages a 26.2-mile race for 45,000 people and guarantees, "Oh, by the way, you'll all be fine." Marathons are not for the faint of heart. You run in one, you take your chances. If the water supply runs short, here's a helpful hint: Stop running. It's just a race. Don't die for it. Congratulations to the winners. You signed up to be in a long, hard run? You got one. finally someone talking about self responsiblity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh 0ne Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 finally someone talking about self responsiblity If I get into, and pay for a marathon, I am told by the organizers that there will be water and facilities at my disposal. If the weather is going to potentially limit or affect that, the organizers either need to make arrangements to get enough supplies, or call the race off to the public. The runner's knew about the weather, but so did the race organizers. Blaming the runners for showing up and expecting to get what they were promised certainly doesn't seem unreasonable to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwacked Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 finally someone talking about self responsiblity This coming from the King Tard whose posts consist of nothing more than whining and blaming liberals for the results of a Republican controlled domestic and foreign policy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknrobn26 Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 If I get into, and pay for a marathon, I am told by the organizers that there will be water and facilities at my disposal. If the weather is going to potentially limit or affect that, the organizers either need to make arrangements to get enough supplies, or call the race off to the public. The runner's knew about the weather, but so did the race organizers. Blaming the runners for showing up and expecting to get what they were promised certainly doesn't seem unreasonable to me. I don't think the organizers were counting on the participants throwing drinking water (by the gallon) over their heads! Thus leaving very little for hydration. Maybe the organizers should have had more hoses for that. I also don't think they knew exactly how many people would show. In the future they should have everyone log-in a week prior and limit the participants to that number. That would help to minimize the lack of supplies. But I could be totally wrong on those points. So my first point is the most valid. Hugh, I know your into this marathon stuff, and I wish you the best. With the hottest/most humid day ever for the date and there are going to be problems. I think the organizers and participants have to share in the responsibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh 0ne Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 I don't think the organizers were counting on the participants throwing drinking water (by the gallon) over their heads! Thus leaving very little for hydration. Maybe the organizers should have had more hoses for that.I also don't think they knew exactly how many people would show. In the future they should have everyone log-in a week prior and limit the participants to that number. That would help to minimize the lack of supplies. But I could be totally wrong on those points. So my first point is the most valid. Hugh, I know your into this marathon stuff, and I wish you the best. With the hottest/most humid day ever for the date and there are going to be problems. I think the organizers and participants have to share in the responsibility. If it was cold, and the runners got hypothermia because they didn't dress warm enough, I'd say blame it on the runners. If it was hot, and the runners got heat exhaustion because of the heat, blame it on the runners. If it was hot, and the runners got heat exhaustion because they couldn't hydrate because the organizers didn't have enough water, blame it on the organizers. I'm pretty sure scenario 3 is what was happening, or was going to happen, which is why they shut it down. Look, people train for 18 weeks to run a marathon. When you sign up for Boston, or New York, or Chicago, part of the deal is what will be supplied by the organizers. I understand what happened with the weather was unusual to say the least. However, they knew what the forecast was days before the race. With temps like that, they should have been prepared to have water left over if every racer that signed up showed up and poured gallons of water on their heads every mile. But they didn't, which is why I think this is on them. Me personally, I train for marathons for 2 reasons. I enjoy the discipline it takes to commit yourself to training for 18 weeks, and I enjoy the excitement of the race. I do it for fun. Getting into these big marathons is a pain in the ass. About 80'000 people sign up for NYC every year. About 38'000 runners get in. Of those 38'000, a lot are corporate or sponsor spots, so the amount of lottery spots given away is significantly lower.Once you're in, you can defer for a year up until 4 days before the marathon. If the forecast 4 days before NYC calls for snow and wind or something else miserable, I'll defer for a year, because I know I won't be able to enjoy it under those conditions. I might consider the same thing if the temps were going to be 90 degrees. However, should I choose not to defer, imo, the organizers better be able to provide the runners with what they need, and what they were promised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DemonKnight Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 I guess this is why theres no Miami Marathon... Its that hot down here in January. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh 0ne Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 (edited) I guess this is why theres no Miami Marathon... Its that hot down here in January. January 27th, 2008: http://www.ingmiamimarathon.com/ They usually kick them off early 6 or 7am so it doesn't get too hot. Just about every major and minor City has a marathon nowadays. Edited October 11, 2007 by Hugh 0ne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DemonKnight Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 January 27th, 2008: http://www.ingmiamimarathon.com/ They usually kick them off early 6 or 7am so it doesn't get too hot. Just about every major and minor City has a marathon nowadays. Learn something new every day. I guarantee youll never catch me in that event... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isleseeya Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 I guarantee youll never catch me in that event... That's because you will be running too fast and then can get dehydrated ...remember its a marathon , not a sprint ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DemonKnight Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 That's because you will be running too fast and then can get dehydrated ...remember its a marathon , not a sprint ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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