Frank Shorter has an excellent essay in the NY Times titled Running Into Trouble. If you are a long distance runner, you are probably aware that last week’s Chicago Marathon was halted after three hours after dozens of people were hospitalized and one runner actually died.
I ran Chicago in 2003 and it was my PR by at least 20 minutes (4:05) and an awesome experience. It’s a great race for first time marathoners which makes the experience last Sunday even more devastating as anyone that has trained for a marathon for the first time knows how emotionally important it is to finish.
Everything I’ve read the 2007 Chicago Marathon so far has been reactive – speculating on what happened and laying out facts and figures. Shorter’s essay is the first prescriptive article I’ve read – if you are a marathoner or race organizer Running Into Trouble is worth five minutes of your life.