Brett Larner ran the 2020 Tokyo marathon course exactly 2 years before the race - it was 88 degress (31 C) at the start!!

Here is what the actual numbers were. Note the dew point was 77° at 7am, which is insanely humid without the embellishment. The numbers your man on the street put up would probably put the dew point over 90° -- Eritrea humid!

https://www.wunderground.com/hourly/jp/tokyo?cm_ven=localwx_hour

wejo wrote:

Why have the Olympics in the hottest part of the summer? Is this so they don't have to compete with soccer?

Temperature wise what 5 am is probably the best? Which would you rather run 8pm with the sun going down and less humidity but higher temps or 8 am with the humidity and sun rising?

Good point, the 1964 Olympics were in October.

I'm not what what point you are trying to make about temp/humidity? If you are talking about relative humidity, please stop. it's a meaningless number. Dew Point is the only number to speak of and it will remain relatively the the same throughout the day.

Remember that temperature readings aren;t fungible. Temperature is recorded in the shade which means that 90° with the Sun directly overhead is much hotter than 90° as the Sun sets. As a runner you should already know this intuitively. The best time to run the marathon would be in the evening (the traditional start time) because the ambient ground temperature would be falling as the race progresses. This is what really matters.

vivalarepublica wrote:

I hear Sapporo is quite tolerable that time of year.

Would have been a very good idea.

But it will take someone running himself/herself into a coma before the IOC will concede to that notion, or some similar solution for future Games.

I have no idea why wejo thinks Rupp is a hot weather runner, certainly not Tokyo August hot. I don't think he'll even run the marathon in 2020 because of the conditions; if he does, it will be a waste of time.

Rupp is a large specimen in the world of elite distance runners. Surface to volume is against him when it comes to heat.

Rupp's ideal is a 55 degree night in Eugene.

frank fields wrote:

vivalarepublica wrote:

I hear Sapporo is quite tolerable that time of year.

Would have been a very good idea.

But it will take someone running himself/herself into a coma before the IOC will concede to that notion, or some similar solution for future Games.

I have no idea why wejo thinks Rupp is a hot weather runner, certainly not Tokyo August hot. I don't think he'll even run the marathon in 2020 because of the conditions; if he does, it will be a waste of time.

Rupp is a large specimen in the world of elite distance runners. Surface to volume is against him when it comes to heat.

Rupp's ideal is a 55 degree night in Eugene.

Salazar has been preparing Rupp for this particular race his whole career. The race will be a dawdle to the 20 mile mark, at which point Rupp will lay down the hammer with his 10 k speed.

Ah well, one day a competitor will die in a championship marathon because of the heat and something will then be done to avoid dangerous conditions in the future.

This is what can happen, this one started at 8:15am:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-15/scottish-runner-collapses-during-gold-coast-marathon/9660440

This is wild. Just the thought of racing a marathon in a dew point of 75 gives me heat stroke!

Racing a marathon with a 68 dew point damn near killed me and 75 is a entirely different world.

Wejo, IAAF competition rules allow all athletes to take whatever "refreshments" they want, as long as they get it within the confines of the aid station. You can be innovative with whatever you grab and hold onto.

You can predict the exact weather 730 days in advance? Damn...I’ll bring you to Vegas with me.

frank fields wrote:

vivalarepublica wrote:

I hear Sapporo is quite tolerable that time of year.

Would have been a very good idea.

But it will take someone running himself/herself into a coma before the IOC will concede to that notion, or some similar solution for future Games.

I have no idea why wejo thinks Rupp is a hot weather runner, certainly not Tokyo August hot. I don't think he'll even run the marathon in 2020 because of the conditions; if he does, it will be a waste of time.

Rupp is a large specimen in the world of elite distance runners. Surface to volume is against him when it comes to heat.

Rupp's ideal is a 55 degree night in Eugene.

What are you talking about? It is a well-known fact that Galen is a very very good heat runner, quite possibly the best in the world. Salazar has stated numerous times that the hotter it is, the better it is for Galen relative to other runners.

Sport Dan wrote:

This is wild. Just the thought of racing a marathon in a dew point of 75 gives me heat stroke!

.

Just imagine hot miserable it will be for spectators in the stadium?

You couldn't pay me to attend 2020.

I'm saying again: find a relatively flat loop course at a few thousand feet up in the nearby mountains and give it a go! 10-15 degrees cooler at least.

wejo wrote:

Actually, I can't believe Rio was even that hot and Rupp needed the special ice hats (which should be illegal or open to everyone btw) as Rio was in the Brazilian winter.

Why have the Olympics in the hottest part of the summer? Is this so they don't have to compete with soccer?

?

I don't think that Rio ever experiences winter. It's closer to the equator than Havana.

It'll be friggin hot, end of:

9th August Average Low 75.3°F/24°C - Average High 87.7°/31°C.

Tokyo Historic Averages for August:

http://www.intellicast.com/Local/History.aspx?unit=C&location=JAXX0085

malmo wrote:

Just imagine hot miserable it will be for spectators in the stadium?

You couldn't pay me to attend 2020.

Make note of that Brojo's, Malmo isn't interested in a fully paid trip to cover the Tokyo Olympics.

vivalarepublica wrote:

I hear Sapporo is quite tolerable that time of year.

Several soccer matches (prelim rounds) will be played in Sapporo.

frank fields wrote:

I have no idea why wejo thinks Rupp is a hot weather runner, certainly not Tokyo August hot. I don't think he'll even run the marathon in 2020 because of the conditions; if he does, it will be a waste of time.

Rupp is a large specimen in the world of elite distance runners. Surface to volume is against him when it comes to heat.

Rupp's ideal is a 55 degree night in Eugene.

Wow wait are you serious? Where have you been the last 5 or so years?

Seriously-- Where have you been the past 10 yrs? Rupp has been crushing it in the heat for well over 10 yrs. I recall him slicing the heat and humidity in Fayettville, AR in 2009 like it was nothing. There was a great article at the time:

He's proven himself a great heat runner in the marathon several times now. He has a legitimate shot at gold in Tokyo and to become an American legend.

Amby Burfoot wrote:

Worth noting that last Tokyo Olympics (remember Billy Mills?) were in October.

It would make a better event if the IOC were flexible on the timing of the Summer games like they used to be. But I don't think there's any way the Summer Games will be held any time outside of July or August. TV ratings took a hit in Sydney when it was in September.

asdghj wrote:

Amby Burfoot wrote:

Worth noting that last Tokyo Olympics (remember Billy Mills?) were in October.

It would make a better event if the IOC were flexible on the timing of the Summer games like they used to be. But I don't think there's any way the Summer Games will be held any time outside of July or August. TV ratings took a hit in Sydney when it was in September.

That was down to time difference, not time of year.