I am very discouraged by the attitude of people with extremist points of view here that barely have silvers of logical background.
First thing first, it was stupid for them to start this race. Plain and simple.
However that is a whole other reason for them making the proper call to suspend the race.
If a certified athletic trainer or meet director was on hand (if there was one present) has the option of making this call with the officals. This is the following regulation which is followed by the NCAA, NATA (national athletic trainers association and the National Serve Storm Labortories.
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“FLASH-TO BANG” Method
The National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) recommend the use of the flash to bang ratio to help determine when cover should be taken. This method requires no equipment and is an easy way to determine the distance from the last lighting strike. To use the flash-to-bang method, begin counting on the lightning flash, and stop counting when the associated thunder is heard. Divide this number (in seconds) by 5 to determine the distance (in miles) to the lightning flash. For example, if the time in seconds between the lightning being spotted and the thunder being hear is equal to 30, divide that by 5, and you get 6 (30/5=6). Therefore, that lightning flash was approximately 6 miles away from the observer.
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So if the lighting was in fact within 30 seconds of the thunder they have every right to pull the kids off the track. Yes, im a runner and I still run in lighting storms however sadly, we live in a time and age with legal liability is at an all time high.
So while it was stupid of them trying to get this race in if they had a prior knowledge of the storm tracking path. However they risked it and in the end while not the best call was the right call.
Now this is going to get into the what if game which leads no where but I just want to bring out to points. One what if they let them finishes, no one is struck by lighting and the kid gets the vicotry. Simple right? Now what if they let them run the extra 90 second and a kid gets struck by lighting and goes into cardiac arrest. The policy's that would come down after this accident would be astronomical and no one would be allowed to run even if there was a threat of rain.
With all of this said, I was not in NJ or even the northeast at this point. I have no reference to what type of support they had or even policy's in place. My data is taken from what I have learned in my pursuit of becoming an athletic trainer and what I believe to the the policy's in place.
My point of writing was try to inform people of what goes behind making a call like this and while I do not argee with starting the race if these conditions were present, they did in the end for the safety of everyone make the right call in the end. If anyone has any questions my email is linked to my screen name.