One runner died of heat related problems and hundreds sought medical attention at this year’s Chicago marathon, which was bathed in unseasonably warm 88 degree weather and was eventually (after three and a half hours) stopped by race officials. Now comes Frank Shorter, a 1972 Olympic marathon gold medal winner and 1976 silver medal winner, writing on the Op Ed page of the New York Times about what marathon race officials and runners can do avoid a repeat of the Chicago massacre. Shorter’s advice:
Make salt packets available at the start of races that are dangerously hot.
Strip down. Men should go
shirtless and women should wear as little as possible in order to maximize
the refrigeration effect of wind against sweaty skin.
Have showers and misters at every aid station.
Talk. As long as you can carry on a normal
conversation and don’t have to pause to get a breath, you’re getting
enough oxygen.
Make clear
to first-time marathoners what elite runners already know: in certain
situations it’s important to back off from the gut feeling to exert
yourself more and more just to maintain the pace.
Change
the standard ambulance procedures so that only those truly in danger
are transported.
Make dropping out palatable.
If necessary, turn off the clock.
For more from Frank Shorter, read his Op Ed.