In the days leading up to the 30th Chicago Marathon, the prognosis was not looking good. Forecasts were telling of an unseasonably hot race day, with temperatures approaching 80 degrees at the time of the race. Upon hearing this, the organizers sprung into action. From notifying local running clubs and emailing all the registered runners, to plastering the heat advisories all over the expo the day before, the word was spread all throughout the running community that this race could potentially be very hot. Not just that, but Executive Race Director Carey Pinkowski met with the Chicago Fire Department to request some backup equipment. All told, he acquired a ventilation van, a giant misting machine, bike patrols, and 22 open fire hydrants that could be used to spray water. On top of that, 28 ambulances stood at the ready along the course, and the Marathon team had arranged for several more ambulances to be at the ready across the state, ready to be activated via the MABAS(Mutual Aid Box Alarm System). The 15 aid stations were all outfitted with 200,000 extra servings of water and sports drink, as well as ice and cooling sponges. As yet another line of preparation, 5 CTA buses were turned into cooling buses and placed along the course to aid overheated runners. But no matter how much they prepared, they could only wait for race day to see how it could all pan out.
October 7, 2007 dawned on the city of Chicago warm, bright, and full of anticipation, as tens of thousands of runners made their final preparations. Meanwhile, Pinkowski was making sure his team was ready, checking over all their preparations one final time. He carried a jacket and gloves with him, both out of a force of habit and as a hope for some kind of breeze or cloud cover. But neither of those things were to be had. Runners were breaking into a sweat while waiting in their start corrals, and things only went downhill from there. 9,000 people didn't even start the race. For those who did, problems started becoming apparent almost immediately. Folks who were skilled runners, those who normally wouldn't even start to get thirsty until after Mile 10, were guzzling water at the first aid station at Mile 1.7. Water started to run out, and it did so quickly.
Meanwhile, spectators at the finish line were treated to a spectacular show, as the men's race came down to a photo finish, and the women's race featured a thrilling comeback in the final 100 meters. But this belied the travails going on further back in the course. By the time most runners hit Mile 15, folks started dropping like flies, and a thermometer in Pilsen was seen to record a temperature of 92 degrees. By 11:24, Pinkowski made the call to activate MABAS. 11 Minutes later, the Chicago Marathon was cancelled. But cancelling the race and getting the racers off the course were two different animals entirely. While officials did create a diversion point where the slower runners were directed off the course, that still left many runners on the course with a dwindling support system. Unfortunately, this ended in tragedy for one runner, a 35 year old policeman from Michigan who collapsed and died on the course. All told, only 25,534 out of the 45,000 registered runners finished the race, with only 1,363 of them finishing before the race was officially cancelled.
Even though the response seemed chaotic, the quick thinking and efforts of the medical team assuredly saved lives and kept people out of hospitals. Despite the chaos of race day, Pinkowski remained in charge of the Marathon, a post which he holds to this day. Sunday's weather forecast calls for a high of only 58 degrees, so I think it's safe to say we won't have the same problem this year.
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