There were a few of course who toughed it out with a smile:
... and the spectators looked great...
But all the people I train with and know were between 30 and 90 minutes off of their normal pace. Even the announcer kept commenting on how she'd never seen so many people still coming across the finish line at the 6 hour mark.
Kudos to the fan who still managed to stay live and cheer for his wife in this outfit. Oh, wait... omigosh... we KNOW that guy!!!
Over in Chicago, I called my girlfriend Diane to see how her race went and she told me that even the first water stop was already out of water, and the temps were rising up -- she saw 95 on a bank's thermometer, and then again, no water at mile 17 either... . She said there were so many ambulances screeming...
Finally, the medical staff could not keep up with the need for them, and the race was "called" at about the 4 hour mark. So everybody had to either get on a bus or walk in. No more running. I can only imagine the phone calls that race director is getting today... but what can you do? That had to be a pretty tough call. 40,000 people do that race, although I read that 10,000 registrants didn't even start. But at least 20,000 disappointed runners... wow. One confirmed dead and three in critical condition. Just too hot a day.
Diane did walk in around 5:15 and receive a medal at least. She was a good sport and declared, "oh, well, at least I got to be a part of history!"
Congrats to all of you who raced in the heat - that was amazing.
