JOURNAL: Chicago Marathon

The 30th running of the Chicago Marathon happened this past Sunday, and like many other races this weekend, there were reports of complications stemming from the unusually high temperatures. Chicago experienced a race-record 88 degrees within two hours of the 8:00 AM start.

(from the Associated Press:)

"Organizers announced they were stopping the race about 3 1/2 hours in, even though hundreds of people kept running for several more hours. Runners who had not passed a certain point were barred from going further and directed to buses traveling back to the starting area.

Organizers told participants who had gotten further along the course they could continue — walking — to the finish line.

Helicopters with bullhorns blared out instructions for runners to stop. Some refused to heed the warnings and kept running."

I went online to YouTube last night and watched a number of video accounts of the race. They ranged from [sensationalized] news and entries from angry runners that wanted to conjured up images of Katrina... to more honest, personal accounts showing both the disappointment/disbelief of how the race unraveled and the ability to find people trying to help other people -- such as those spectators who brought out water hoses for the racers.

The conditions for the race looked incredible -- I personally believe that the images of people crowded around city fountains for water and sanctuary were ridiculous... and simply amazing. And I feel a bit of envy of those who were sharing that experience, but it is moments like this that I feel YouTube shows its true utility... not just for distributing commercial images or mindless commentary, but also as a means of sharing eye-witness accounts of these events and bringing the world closer together.

Below are a couple videos from the media and a couple of personal home movies. And also available is a race report from Jake over at Nofo.

Video Clips:

Chicago Tribune Coverage

CBS Channel 2 News Coverage

A personal account of the race.

A city park turned water stop at mile 4 1/2.

Perhaps I'll be able to make it up there for 2008.