Media Mishaps: The Chicago Marathon

I don't know if anyone has been paying attention to all of the media coverage on the Chicago marathon. I have, and a LOT of it really angers me.

When I turned on the TV in my hotel room Monday morning, there was a short little blurb on CNN Headline news about the whole thing. The gist of the story? It was too hot, many runners had not trained for warm weather and were not ready. Also? Runners need to stay hydrated when it's hot out because their blood can't get to their skin properly.

Really?

I kept waiting for them to say: and this was difficult since the marathon ran out of water.

And I don't know about anyone else out there, but there was absolutely NO WAY for me to train in cooler temperatures this summer. Therefore, I trained in hot temperatures. Therefore, I feel like I was prepared. That's why I was walking when I got too hot. That's why I assume other runners were doing the same thing. We knew to walk because we had experienced conditions like this. Let's stop blaming the runners.

Quotes like these have been peppering articles:

"Some experts now wonder whether a more critical look should be taken of the runner, who in the face of the brutal conditions may have lacked a little 'common sense.'" – ABC News, Experts: Mind Over Matter May Have Played Part in Chicago

"In the Stuart Smalley division, race organizers decided to end things for those not at the halfway point by 11:30 a.m." – The Suburban Chicago News, Ending marathon early was right call

And the worst article I read? Mike Downy's No One Forced Anyone to Run...where he says "This is a professional competition that the public sometimes confuses with a company picnic."


I can't count the number of articles I read that are blaming non-elite runners for not being smart about their race. Editorial after editorial says that we should not run. Obviously, these people do not understand the sport of marathoning. A lot of the non-elites were probably better prepared for the marathon. We weren't pushing ourselves and we knew when enough was enough. I sat in countless clinics listening to what I should be doing and how to prepare myself for training. Needless to say, my training group was extremely helpful in this. I seriously felt like I was well-prepared as I'm sure everyone else in my training group felt. I know some people are stupid, but I'm not thinking it is enough to make a sweeping generalization. After all, how could the rest of us have finished if that was true?

Of course, Jeff Galloway understands. He was quoted in an article called Does Marathon Need Stricter Entry Requirements? as saying: “[Marathon runners] are adults and they have to be expected to take responsibility for their health and safety,” Galloway said. “But if you put a cap on it, you’re going to keep a lot of people who have the opportunity to improve the quality of their life from participating and gaining this wonderful set of experiences along the way.” Thank goodness Gary Cohen had the decency to interview a true running expert.

Do I think they would prevent non-elites from running next time? Personally, no. The $110 entry fee from 45,000 runners is too tempting. Not to mention all of the revenue we bring into the city from our hotel rooms and restaurant bills.

And bravo to Time! Of all of the articles I've read on this whole thing, they have the most true account. It's called When a Marathon Goes Wrong and you can read it here .