![]() "We are considering everybody from the person who is going to break the tape to the person who is at the bottom of the results page," he added. Mahler said TCM has to consider all the runners during a race day that could extend into early afternoon for marathoners in the elements. "You run the risk of runners overheating, collapsing and medical attention not getting to them quickly enough." "It's very difficult for the body to cool itself during strenuous activity" with such heat, humidity and direct sun. The "wet globe bulb temperature" was forecast to reach 80 degrees Sunday, he said. TCM organizers use a metric called "wet globe bulb temperature," Grunzke said, which takes into account temperature, humidity, sunlight and wind. Sunday also was unusually humid, he said. Saturday and Sunday saw record highs, with a high of 92 on Sunday. NWS meteorologist Caleb Grunzke said the service's overnight revision to the forecast was slight, but it was enough to edge into the organizers' "black flag" status. The overnight low Saturday was in the high 60s, with a Sunday midday high near 89 with mostly sunny skies, according to the National Weather Service. You can expect another update on status of the events by 5:30 a.m. ![]() In its e-mail to all marathon and 10-mile runners Saturday night, TCM said "if canceling the race is required based upon our best practices and safety protocols in light of weather conditions, it is a decision we will make at any time conditions dictate. When race conditions are deemed to have reached black-flag status, the recommended action is to cancel the event. ![]() TCM, which organizes the event, had telegraphed the concern earlier in the week when the races were considered red-flag conditions - extreme caution for runners. "Our race directors and medical directors met and decided shortly before 5:30 that, no, we just can't be certain that we can put on a safe race with what the situation is," he added. and saw that the forecast "was a little bit worse." The NWS projected a high of 91 at one point Sunday morning. He said race organizers met again at 2:30 a.m. "We would have loved to say the race was a go, but we couldn't say that definitively," he added, regarding the communications to runners in both races. Sunday morning: The races were canceled.Ĭharlie Mahler, TCM communications manager, told the Star Tribune later Sunday morning that race officials monitored the weather overnight, even meeting at 2 a.m. TCM (Twin Cities in Motion) notified runners in both races in an e-mail about 8:30 Saturday night that it was monitoring the weather and would update them Sunday morning. In an e-mail to runners in the wee hours Sunday, race organizers said "the latest weather forecast update projects record-setting heat conditions that do not allow a safe event for runners, supporters and volunteers." About 300 runners were taken to hospitals. That same day, the Chicago Marathon canceled the race hours into the event, owing to the conditions. start, and several runners needed medical assistance. At the time, the 2007 event was the warmest in the race's history, at 74 degrees with 87% humidity at the 8 a.m. The marathon had never been canceled because of the weather, but the heat has been a factor in earlier races. Sunday's weather forecast put the races into black-flag status ("extreme and dangerous conditions"), prompting the cancellation. Paul when the threat of heat - with a record high in the 90s, humidity and cloudless skies - was deemed too dangerous for participants.Īs many as 8,000 runners were set to compete in the 42nd running of the marathon, with 12,000 more in the TC 10 Mile, and thousands of spectators on the streets of both cities. Twin Cities Marathon officials canceled the race early Sunday from Minneapolis to St.
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