Too hot for xc meet

i would postpone it... last year we had a race in similar conditions, same region, two kids passed out and one was sent to the hospital. the truth is that it's dangerous, it's not about "the nature of the sport" it's about safety at this point.

zante wrote:

i would postpone it... last year we had a race in similar conditions, same region, two kids passed out and one was sent to the hospital. the truth is that it's dangerous, it's not about "the nature of the sport" it's about safety at this point.

Agreed. Also, if you don't want it to come down to your individual judgment, I'd consult your school district or athletic conference policy. Chances are if the heat index is over a certain threshold (say, 100 degrees), you won't be able to run the meet regardless of what you might want.

curiouscoach wrote:

I coach in the north east and we have been having some really miserable days. 90 degree with really high humidity.

Just curious if any ever thought of postponing a meet due to high heat and humidity?

If they're cancelling other high school contests then I would say it's appropriate to also cancel the XC race. Football game cancelled? Soccer? Field Hockey? If yes then the XC race should be cancelled too. If no then no let them race. You're talking 18-25 minutes of effort for the bulk of the runners, which is less than half a football/soccer/FH game. I know those games players aren't going continuously and they can get a drink at times. But they're also wearing protective gear/pads.

I'd say one of the most important things you can do is to try to race on a course where you can see the runners the whole way. If that means putting people in the woods do so. Somebody goes down on a field during a game the ATs can get right out to help them. Somebody goes down out in the woods where nobody is watching it's a different story.

I don't understand how some of the posters on here can't figure out that we don't all live in the same conditions. These temps are normal for me to run in, I would still say 90 is hot. Also most runners in the south try and run early in the morning or late into the evening when the temp is cooler. I don't think kids or adults for that matter who are not used to running in those conditions should be racing in them. You learn to adapt down south. Hydration is much harder in the summer and I can really notice when my hydration is lacking. Try for once to put yourself in someone else's shoes. If they can figure out how to have water,cold towels, and even water hoses spraying people out on the course then go on with the meet. No shame in canceling.. better safe then sorry.

In that case, let's just cancel everything that has any degree of risk. Can't be too careful!

Sounds like fun...

skurey wrote:

Lol at these southerners saying that's not hot. The temperature isn't the problem stupids.

You think southerners don't know about humidity? Visit the gulf coast sometime and you'll see what humidity really is. You literally don't have a clue.

Precious Roy wrote:

Cancel. Kids in the north just aren't acclimated well enough to race in the heat and are too young and dumb to be trusted to adjust their race pace.

I might agree with this if we were just now in a hot snap after a mild summer and people hadn't had the chance to acclimate yet, but it's been pretty hot all summer. We've been training in pretty consistent heat/humidity for the past month, and it was hot off and on all summer before that. How many miles do we have to run in the heat before you'll consider us to be acclimated?

The Donger wrote:

Why are varsity meets not held in the morning... 7 am is better than 3-4 pm.

Lots of teams travel from hours away for meets. We'd be leaving at 3am or 4am for many of our meets if they started at 7am. If the meet is going to be scheduled based on heat, I'd rather have the race later in the evening. Better to sacrifice sleep the night following the race than the morning of, and honestly staying up late is more natural for high schoolers than getting up early.

But as I already said, we've been running in the heat most of the summer. We've survived long runs, tempos, and time trials in the same exact weather we'll be racing in. I don't see any reason to make any major scheduling changes.

zante wrote:

i would postpone it... last year we had a race in similar conditions, same region, two kids passed out and one was sent to the hospital. the truth is that it's dangerous, it's not about "the nature of the sport" it's about safety at this point.

Would you also postpone all football games because the players could get a concussion, or break their collarbone, or collapse from heat exhaustion because it's too hot under their pads?

a refreshing cool front????? yeah, keep telling yourself that slowpoke:):):):)

laughing southerner wrote:

You know how northerners like to laugh at southerners for our inability to handle ice/snow? Now the shoe's on the other foot. 90 degrees? That's called a refreshing cool front.

If it is HS and a weekday meet, cancel.

HS teachers/coaches are guardians of the kids.

Too much to lose - and very little to gain.

Could you really extort the kids to push it??

Do you want them jogging a race??

Why is everyone stil telling this guy whether or not to cancel? He said they have already ran the meet on the first page.

South vs North, keep going. I am from the North, so I will wait until winter to call you all wimps when we're at negative 20 degrees and you're in a winter coat when it's 50 degrees.

I live in North Alabama and I had a race last week that was 93 degrees when I ran. I set a season PR but there were alot of guys but mostly girls passing out and some not able to finish. A few even had to go to the hospital for dehydration. Idk about canceling the race but make sure everybody on your team drinks plenty of water and gets plenty of rest. What really helped was at the finish line there was a big tent for shade with a big fan and a table with cold water and bags of ice

Read the Freaking Thread wrote:

Why is everyone stil telling this guy whether or not to cancel? He said they have already ran the meet on the first page.

South vs North, keep going. I am from the North, so I will wait until winter to call you all wimps when we're at negative 20 degrees and you're in a winter coat when it's 50 degrees.

In Texas in the winter, EVERYTHING IS CANCELED!!!!!!!!!

Just ask the 2013 Dallas Marathon and the 2015 Cowtown Marathon. Canceled!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Would running a shorter course be an option?