They should be cancelled at the temperature you would cancel your long run.
They should be cancelled at the temperature you would cancel your long run.
I hope the OP is really just trolling...
First of all there are a lot of reasons to run a race other than to PR.
Secondly, warm conditions may make it more difficult to PR, but don't mean you won't PR.
Lastly, when race plans are being put together months in advance you can't know what conditions are going to be like on race day. You can't just cancel a race because it's warmer than some runners would prefer. There's too much money, time, and effort expended that can't be recovered.
As an individual, you always have the right to cancel your own participation in a race. Execute that right if you feel so inclined, but don't try to impose that decision upon others.
Hot or hilly marathons are still perfectly legitimate races, but they favor the well-prepared and intelligent runners rather than the pedal-to-the-metal flat-out fast runners, that's all. I once ran a marathon in 100+ heat (104 F according to a mid-race time-and-temperature display on a local bank.) I passed on a warm-up, dressed for temperature control (hat, long-sleeved white shirt, sunglasses etc.) ran in the shade where possible, stayed on concrete (asphalt was melting and sticky), drank liquids and doused wherever possible, and ran conservatively. Didn't run a PR, but it was a good race and I placed pretty well.
Winner was Bill Gookin, who was doing his first field-test of Gookinaid (ERG; anyone remember that?) and he won by about fifteen minutes over a pretty good field.
It was 95 degrees at the finish of my PR for the marathon. I think it was cool at the start, but the temperature kept increasing.
Another marathon I placed 4th after going off course and it was 98 at the finish. That one was hot. I downed 2 liters of water within 10 minutes after finishing.
Fortunately I was heat trained to be able to run well in these conditions, though it certainly affected the times.
Given that each runner is able to decide whether or not to run, I don't see why any race should ever be canceled. If I think it's too hot to run, I'll stay home. If I don't think it's too hot to run, I'll run the race. It's not as if I am just going to allow the race director to make the call for me and I am going to run the thing if I think it is dangerous to do so.
Thanks the the input. I just feel that marathon organizers/directors are setting themselves up for a lot of future problems if they put on races where lots of people fail to PR. Their race might become the one "where the RD doesn't care if anyone PRs." That is not good, IMO.
They can't cancel it. The race directors need the money to pay for the 1st Class airline tickets and free 5 star hotel rooms for perks they owe for the perks they receive from the likes of Mary Wittenberg, Cary Pinkowski, John Chaplain, Stephanie Hightower, Lamine Diack, Seb Coe, etc. Not to forget the elites they pay expenses for.
When you enter most races, it is clearly stated that there are no refunds, even if the race is canceled. So, the RDs would be okay.
As long as you have basics like a fuel/aid station every 2 miles, they should never get canceled because of temperatures. People just need to be smart enough to assess their own health.
If you want to run a PR, find a few races with PR conditions and cross your fingers that you don't get freak weather. It's not the RD's fault if you fail to PR in his hilly July marathon.
Marathons should only be run when it will be 40-55F at the finish. If it's too hot, you won't be able to PR, and if it's too cold, you might injure yourself.
Good point. But, one could argue that it's easier to PR at 55F than 80F. It really is a tough call. The bottom line is that runners must be protected from harsh conditions. Look at how horrible things got at Chicago this year. That race should NOT have happened.
Varum wrote:
Good point. But, one could argue that it's easier to PR at 55F than 80F. It really is a tough call. The bottom line is that runners must be protected from harsh conditions. Look at how horrible things got at Chicago this year. That race should NOT have happened.
How horrible things got at Chicago this year? Things were not horrible at Chicago this year....they were in 2007. But they learned their lesson after that year. Don't even try to compare 07 with this year, this year was nowhere near what it was in 07.
Marathons should not be cancelled at 75...it shoult take very extreme conditions to cancel a marathon. I'm talking hurricanes, triple digit temps, white out blizzards, etc. Not just a condition that is "less than ideal."
I actually like IllinoisMaster's suggestion...whatever it takes to cancel your long run. In my case, nothing does that.
If you give people's money back that'll bankrupt marathons. They already paid hotels and flights for career gravy train guys like Hansjörg Wirz, Dave Moorcroft,...