If life’s a marathon, be ready!
This past weekend was big in the world of distance running, with both the Army 10 Miler in DC and the Chicago Marathon. However, the 35,000 person Chicago Marathon took over the news with its record 300+ 911 calls and several race-related deaths. I’ve seen the coverage of the race, which of course was long and held on an extremely hot day in a city environment (questionable air quality, not-so-windy in the Windy City) and I have to say that I am incredibly frustrated with how the coverage has been handled.
When you enter a race, you sign a waver basically relinquishing any ability to sue the Marathon, its sponsors, or organizing bodies for whatever malady may fall upon you during the race. You attest in these waivers to the fact that you are a healthy, prepared human being who is acutely aware of the hazards involved with hardcore distance running. Yet, pundits blame the race officials for neglecting to have enough medical care, water stations, and basic aid for the myriad runners dropping from dehydration, heat exhaustion, and general fatigue.
I did not run the Chicago Marathon so I cannot verify if these claims are true. However, as an athlete who participates in distance runs, I have to say that runners take these risks upon themselves. Distance running is not a sport for the casual athlete; it is physically and mentally demanding, with serious consequences for those who are not in peak condition. I know that even those in peak condition can fall lame in races (people have freak heart attacks all the time; it happened at Broad Street too, tragically). But I have seen a lot of unprepared individuals sign up for and compete in marathons. For people with “something to prove,” at least in terms of physical fitness, the marathon is like Mount Everest – you want to conquer it simply because it is there and because it’s the pinnacle of its sport. Rich people pay to be basically carried up Everest, resulting in unsafe conditions, several deaths and other casualties, and an aesthetic degradation of the accomplishment itself. Summiting Everest has been cheapened because the achievement is no longer reserved for the world’s most revered climbers; it’s open to anyone with the power of a blank check. The marathon has become the same thing – it’s a mere status symbol and no longer held at the level of respect that it used to be, and no longer reserved for the most physically-conditioned racers in the world.
I, for one, have no desire to run a marathon. That’s not to say I won’t some day, but it will be because I have accomplished all of my goals at the 5k, 10 mile, and half-marathon distances. Not every person is built for that extent of distance racing. Marathoners complain of black toes, toe nails that fall off, bone spurs, and shin splints; I tell them that maybe they shouldn’t put their body through 26.2 miles of hell. I think people who complete marathons, especially that elite few who can complete it in under 3 hours, are amazing individuals who deserve the accolades placed upon them. However, most people should not be competing in them; if you’re not in peak physical shape, you should not be an example for other who want to make distance running their goal. The marathon is not a race in which you want to promote the theory that “Hey – if I can do it, so can you!” Because, let’s be serious, most people can’t – and shouldn’t.
I think that people should shoot for what is a reasonable fitness goal for the individual. Just because the marathon is one of the furthest distances that one can run, it shouldn’t be every distance runner’s goal. 5ks, 10 milers, and halfs can be amazingly fun and rewarding, not to mention are less stress on the body. I don’t mean to hate on marathoners – I already told you how amazing you guys are – but my intent is to warn people that serious injury and even death are possible in the world of distance running. If you think the day is too hot, don’t run; if you can’t breathe, stop or race walk until you catch your breath. Push yourself mentally, but listen to your body. If you can’t hear what it’s telling you, you need to spend more time training and finding your limits so that you can out-train them.
Godspeed, my fellow athletes… and stay safe.
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Comments
Phil
I’d like to offer a slightly different opinion as a long-time race committee member and volunteer for two distance races that make the Chicago Marathon look like a warm-up. One is 100 miles and the other 50, over back roads and dirt single-track trails across hilly country. (I should point out that I could never run one of these races and hope to finish.)
*I agree with you entirely* that the race entrant should be in the proper physical condition to finish and they sign away a right to sue to organizers. However, the organizers are responsible for providing adequate aid to the racers, including emergency medical personnel. For example, at our races if we know that it’s going to be an especially hot day, we *strongly* warn the racers before the start about the conditions and we increase the amount of fluids and ice we stock at the aid stations.
The racer still has the personal responsibility to use common sense, but we’re responsible for supporting them if things go wrong.
Your post is the first I’ve heard about this year’s Chicago Marathon so I have no idea if the organizers were on the ball.
On the 100 mile race, we even have medical checks along the course where the runners are required to weigh in and have their pulse and blood pressure checked. If the medical personnel doesn’t like the results, they pull the racer. Those medical checks help prevent things from going horribly wrong, though someone invariably needs EMT aid or an ambulance ride each year because they went too far. If we didn’t contract for that service, didn’t watch out for distressed racers (using ham radios to track racers we’re worried about), then we would be breaking the contract that we made with the entrants. When they sign up for the race, we’ve told them how many and where our aid stations are, what sports drinks and food we’ll provide, etc. We also post commentaries from previous years so they have an idea of what to expect on the course and for support.
If the Chicago Marathon posted information about the race beforehand and then provided the appropriate level of services *given* the conditions of the day and their knowledge that their racers may include a *lot of marathon virgins*, then they did their jobs. But if the entrants ignored their available information (including basic stuff like listening to The Weather Channel beforehand) in their “quest for gold”, then they’re idiots.
And you can’t fix stupid.
Derek
I actually ran in the Chicago Marathon and can confirm most of the stories (especially as one of those diverted off the course). Days prior to the start I got an email blast warning of possible high temps. They had steps to take to prepare (hydrate, dress appropriately, hydrate, know your limits, hydrate, etc.) Standing in the start corals, they made more announcements that it was going to be host, drink extra fluids, there will be misting stations on the course, if you feel ill, head to a medical tent immediately.
Where things failed is it got hot real fast (84 by 10am) and thus the early aid stations we depleted. All the cooling equipment was on the back half of the course (first was at mile 18). With nothing but the water & Gatorade at the aid station, early runners dumped it on themselves for cooling. Race organizers are on record saying that they didn’t expect that, and they ran out of water (and Gatorade since it is all concentrate mixed on the course.)
When I got to the second aid station (mile 4 or 5), there was nothing. All the tables were turned over, and there are accounts from volunteers who were instructed not to restock their tables. All the workers there said to go to the next station (3 miles down course).
I’ll agree that maybe the field of runners in Chicago included too many people (they’d bumped the cap up to 45k this year). While I only saw those around me, I didn’t see many I would immediately tag as out of shape or who decided that Saturday to run a marathon. While I think the organizers totally did the right thing by canceling the race, they had to because they messed up in the positioning of their resources and it was too late to move them.
What I am sick of is comments chiding anyone below a certain pace threshold for even attempting to run a marathon – Phil goes so far to call them “stupid”. While I run no where near a BQ pace, I’m not walking either. I trained since March which also included learning to keep myself properly hydrated during runs as long as 24 miles. In a race as long as a marathon, you can’t possibly carry enough fluid with you, especially when it’s hot. I expect part of the $110 I pay to run in the race is to have some fluids available for me on the course.
If you enter a marathon on a whim and don’t train or educate yourself on what it takes, then, yes, shame on you. But don’t think because Chicago is traditionally filled with a lot of first timers that all the heat related problems were because the runners were stupid. Most were thirsty because fluid they’d signed up for and were told to drink more of was not there.
Phil
Derek misinterpreted my comment about being “stupid”. I said:
“But if the entrants ignored their available information…”
That is, if you heard the warnings about the heat but didn’t make any extra effort to prepare yourself (bring your own water & electrolytes?), and got into trouble, then you’re stupid.
I didn’t say *anything* about people who run at a slow pace, not even a mention. Hey the one time I tried a marathon I was going at an 8:30 minute pace, which is pretty darn slow, so I’m not going to rain on a first-timer’s parade.
Or was he talking about a different Phil???
I’m sorry that he had a rough time in the race and from his description, it sounds like the organizers simply announced “hot day” and didn’t adjust their supplies or procedures accordingly. If so, that sounds wrong.
Excuse the delay in replying. I just checked the email for the account that got the follow-up email.