I'm in Bydgoszcz, Poland with Rojo for the World Cross Country Championships. The entire country is blanketed in snow.
I heard earlier today that race day was calling for temperatures of negative 14 (Celsius). As of now the forecast has improved to a high of 0 Celsius, 32 Fahrenheit on Sunday. Supposedly, they will try and plow the course before the race which could just make it a mess.
Personally, I'm glad to see some crazy weather for World XC. It's part of the experience. World XC is not about racing on a manicured track. It's one of the world's greatest footraces, because it is exactly that, a footrace of not an exact distance, through the natural elements.
The crazier the weather, the better.
It got me thinking of what the craziest weather I ever raced in. I struggled to think of totally ridiculous weather. One of my fondest memories of running was going for a run in downpour in high school and doing slip n slide in the mudd afterwards.
I think the heat of World XC in Kenya in 2007 was the craziest I saw. Runners were passing out and being carried off on stretchers and dumped into ice baths. Randy Wilbur, the USOC scientists, was there and he told me he was surprised no one literally died at the race. My recap of it was here:
http://www.letsrun.com/2007/worldscrosscountryrecap2425.php
So, what's the craziest weather you've personally ever raced in?