Crazy day at Savannah marathon

Here's the course map:

http://www.runrocknroll.com/savannah/the-races/course/

Here's the closest weather station I could find to the course, set for weather history 11/7/2015:

http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KGASAVAN34#history/s20151107/e20151107/mdaily

By 9:45 the DP was 71. Looking at the weekly and monthly history it doesn't even seem out of the ordinary for weather. That's pretty disgusting and definitely miserable to run or race in but I'm surprised the race was so adversely affected.

Some pretty dramatic stories coming out of this though, so it could be a freak thing like that Paul Short a couple years back where they cancelled some races because they ran out of medical staff even though the reported weather didn't look as bad as it felt on the course.

The link you provided shows over 10 degree temperature difference and 5 degree change in dew point.

Of course thats just compared to the average. I do remember previous Savannah RnR marathons being not that hot or humid.

Alan

sandybeaver wrote:

Here's the course map:

http://www.runrocknroll.com/savannah/the-races/course/

Here's the closest weather station I could find to the course, set for weather history 11/7/2015:

http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KGASAVAN34#history/s20151107/e20151107/mdaily

By 9:45 the DP was 71. Looking at the weekly and monthly history it doesn't even seem out of the ordinary for weather. That's pretty disgusting and definitely miserable to run or race in but I'm surprised the race was so adversely affected.

Some pretty dramatic stories coming out of this though, so it could be a freak thing like that Paul Short a couple years back where they cancelled some races because they ran out of medical staff even though the reported weather didn't look as bad as it felt on the course.

This is the third year I've run it and it was way hotter than previous years.

Here is the weather for the past few years from findmymarathon.

The temperature at the start was 20-25 degrees warmer than in previous years. No wind and high humidity. Miserable. Soaked from sweat long before the race started.

Funny thing is that a higher percentage of runners hit BQs because the slower ones didn't finish. 5.2% last year compared to 8.2% this year.

I remember Letsrun message board posters tearing into Miranda Carfrae's winning 2:50 marathon split from the Ironman Hawaii. The Savanna weather would be a good day at Kona....

sandybeaver wrote:

Here's the course map:

http://www.runrocknroll.com/savannah/the-races/course/

Here's the closest weather station I could find to the course, set for weather history 11/7/2015:

http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KGASAVAN34#history/s20151107/e20151107/mdaily

By 9:45 the DP was 71. Looking at the weekly and monthly history it doesn't even seem out of the ordinary for weather. That's pretty disgusting and definitely miserable to run or race in but I'm surprised the race was so adversely affected.

Some pretty dramatic stories coming out of this though, so it could be a freak thing like that Paul Short a couple years back where they cancelled some races because they ran out of medical staff even though the reported weather didn't look as bad as it felt on the course.

It was close to 90 by noon. The medical staff looked like they had run a marathon.

On a hot day in Savannah, the sun is extremely intense. I recall it hitting something crazy like 109 in October a few years ago, maybe 2010. It is very humid as well. Usually at this time of year it is relatively cool and pleasant but I heard about a D2 regionals xc meet the same day this weekend down at St. Leo near Tampa where there was carnage in the men's 10k race with supposedly dozens getting IV's after the race and a number going to the ER--the temp reached close to 90, the course was hilly, and it had been that warm for about a week.

jjjjjj wrote:

On a hot day in Savannah, the sun is extremely intense. I recall it hitting something crazy like 109 in October a few years ago, maybe 2010. It is very humid as well. Usually at this time of year it is relatively cool and pleasant but I heard about a D2 regionals xc meet the same day this weekend down at St. Leo near Tampa where there was carnage in the men's 10k race with supposedly dozens getting IV's after the race and a number going to the ER--the temp reached close to 90, the course was hilly, and it had been that warm for about a week.

It has never been 109 in Savannah...ever. Let alone 109 in October.

Exaggerate much? wrote:

jjjjjj wrote:

On a hot day in Savannah, the sun is extremely intense. I recall it hitting something crazy like 109 in October a few years ago, maybe 2010. It is very humid as well. Usually at this time of year it is relatively cool and pleasant but I heard about a D2 regionals xc meet the same day this weekend down at St. Leo near Tampa where there was carnage in the men's 10k race with supposedly dozens getting IV's after the race and a number going to the ER--the temp reached close to 90, the course was hilly, and it had been that warm for about a week.

It has never been 109 in Savannah...ever. Let alone 109 in October.

I think he means 109 CELSIUS :)

Another runner died after the race also. This makes four dead runners in five years for the RnR Savannah Marathon. Why is this?

Exaggerate much? wrote:

jjjjjj wrote:

On a hot day in Savannah, the sun is extremely intense. I recall it hitting something crazy like 109 in October a few years ago, maybe 2010. It is very humid as well. Usually at this time of year it is relatively cool and pleasant but I heard about a D2 regionals xc meet the same day this weekend down at St. Leo near Tampa where there was carnage in the men's 10k race with supposedly dozens getting IV's after the race and a number going to the ER--the temp reached close to 90, the course was hilly, and it had been that warm for about a week.

It has never been 109 in Savannah...ever. Let alone 109 in October.

I would be surprised if it has never-ever reached 109, I used to be stationed at Fort Stewart and recall one month when it averaged 100. The combination of heat and humidity can make it a dangerous place to run a marathon, although early mornings in November aren't usually too hot.

TrackCoach wrote:

Exaggerate much? wrote:

It has never been 109 in Savannah...ever. Let alone 109 in October.

I would be surprised if it has never-ever reached 109, I used to be stationed at Fort Stewart and recall one month when it averaged 100. The combination of heat and humidity can make it a dangerous place to run a marathon, although early mornings in November aren't usually too hot.

Pretty easy to check this stuff:

Record high is 105 and record high in October is 97

Correction: it hit 100 degrees on October 9, 2009. Found it in my running log.

The historical records don't indicate this temperature (I found 93 degrees as the high). I am certain that it was 100 degrees on that day, however. The 93 degrees is from the airport.

jjjjjjj wrote:

The historical records don't indicate this temperature (I found 93 degrees as the high). I am certain that it was 100 degrees on that day, however. The 93 degrees is from the airport.

AIrport is in, without a doubt, the hottest place in that region.

This is a good reason not to have a marathon this early in GA.

What did the race distance end up being? Did the leaders finish the full course or was it shortened before they finished. Someone mentioned a higher percentage of BQs. Surely Boston will not honor a shortened marathon. Or would they?

Death marathon wrote:

Another runner died after the race also. This makes four dead runners in five years for the RnR Savannah Marathon. Why is this?

Second death was a 47 year old "runner" with previous marathon p.r. of 5:40 and half p.r. of 2:38.

Half marathons attract a lot of people who may not be in great condition going into a race.

bigtool05 wrote:

TrackCoach wrote:

I would be surprised if it has never-ever reached 109, I used to be stationed at Fort Stewart and recall one month when it averaged 100. The combination of heat and humidity can make it a dangerous place to run a marathon, although early mornings in November aren't usually too hot.

Pretty easy to check this stuff:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savannah,_Georgia

Record high is 105 and record high in October is 97

A costal city like Savannah can several degrees temperature differences depending on where you are.

joho wrote:

This is a good reason not to have a marathon this early in GA.

What did the race distance end up being? Did the leaders finish the full course or was it shortened before they finished. Someone mentioned a higher percentage of BQs. Surely Boston will not honor a shortened marathon. Or would they?

The full marathon distance of 26.21 miles was completed by the faster runners. Competitor Group now has a category in their timing called "marathon finisher: diverted" for those whose races are cut short. You still get your finisher medal for the marathon but your time cannot be used for Boston due to the shortened distance.