Tuesday, October 09, 2007
I estimate that I'd have been a couple of miles from whatever it is they call the park where the White Sox play if they'd called the Chicago Marathon our year-- just about at the point where Captain X took off, just outside of Chinatown. That was a tough stretch, but I knew by then I was finishing.
The various news accounts are interesting, in that there seems to be some attempt to blame the runners-- for not being properly prepared, for not knowing their limits. (See, for example, this piece and its Comments thread.) That seems like bullshit to me-- but it also seems odd that the best organized event I've ever seen could have experienced such a catastrophic failure. I am particularly puzzled by the way the organizers pulled the plug: helicopters, cops with bullhorns, but no sag wagons? Did they even have a plan in place before they made the decision?
The weather conditions sound similar to what Jim and I went through in LA-- clear, 80s--, and the fact that people must have trained for it through the long, hot summer makes me wonder what was going on. LA caught me flat because I wasn't acclimated-- I trained through the Buffalo winter. It was as close as I have ever come to dropping out, but I made it through by taking on water at every opportunity, and finished without dying or going to the ER. It would be a shame to see the largest open marathon in the world start imposing qualifying times-- if you are only going to do one, doing Chicago would be what I'd recommend, for the spectacle, for the crowd support, and, until now, for the organization. I'm sure the Flying Pig in Cincinnati is great fun, but since 04 I have felt a connection to Chicago that is unlike my relationship to any other city. I felt the love out on the course, and I am wondering what could have happened this year. Did they just panic?
The various news accounts are interesting, in that there seems to be some attempt to blame the runners-- for not being properly prepared, for not knowing their limits. (See, for example, this piece and its Comments thread.) That seems like bullshit to me-- but it also seems odd that the best organized event I've ever seen could have experienced such a catastrophic failure. I am particularly puzzled by the way the organizers pulled the plug: helicopters, cops with bullhorns, but no sag wagons? Did they even have a plan in place before they made the decision?
The weather conditions sound similar to what Jim and I went through in LA-- clear, 80s--, and the fact that people must have trained for it through the long, hot summer makes me wonder what was going on. LA caught me flat because I wasn't acclimated-- I trained through the Buffalo winter. It was as close as I have ever come to dropping out, but I made it through by taking on water at every opportunity, and finished without dying or going to the ER. It would be a shame to see the largest open marathon in the world start imposing qualifying times-- if you are only going to do one, doing Chicago would be what I'd recommend, for the spectacle, for the crowd support, and, until now, for the organization. I'm sure the Flying Pig in Cincinnati is great fun, but since 04 I have felt a connection to Chicago that is unlike my relationship to any other city. I felt the love out on the course, and I am wondering what could have happened this year. Did they just panic?
