Not to downplay the tragedy of the Chicago marathon but who runs enough to be able to finish a marathon and doesn't know enough to stop at a store and get water if they are dehydrated or just quit the race?

Obviously the organizers cocked up but the runners have a responsibility to their own health.

No, it is up to the race folks to ensure a safe race, that is why the runners fork over the cash... to be taken care of, to know that water will be provided, that they will not have to fear being run over by cars, or whatever the case be. It is unfortunate for someone to die for this to be apparent that Chicago was not prepared, but should raise flags to any other races, it is better to be overprepared than face the obvious panic that being unprepared unleashes.

Yes, it was hot, yes, it was humid.... but how do you run out of water at mile 4? How does no one notice a runner in distress? Why do you shut down a race halfway through? Why not just state, OK, here's what happened, if you want to finish, that is up to you, but you are on your own, but if something does happen, we aren't liable.

Sadly, in the future, the fine print on a race application is going to be a lot longer, and you won't see increased turnout... I would even bet they require some sort of Doctor (I mean Health Insurance Rep) ok to race.

First of all, is 88 degrees really that hot? I used to live in south Louisiana, let me tell you about HOT. Secondly, who in the hell who is running a race for fun, runs themselves to death. Sorry, but that's just stupid.

I've ran Chicago twice. First time, nearly 30K runners. Good race, 4:30 for a first timer who, yes, was running for equally for fitness and the social scene. In Chicago, training is a superb way for newbies to meet and greets. 2nd time, little more serious. In a spate of just two years, it increased to over 35K registrants. That second time, I couldn't even get moving until it got to about mile 9. The upshot is that my last 6 miles were obscenely (for me) fast splits to get me back to where I wanted to be.

But 45K? Look, the roads aren't getting any wider, and since they won't move the start to 4 AM, the carrying capacity of the race is FAR exceeded.

The Chicago marathon works only for two kinds of runners: the elite racers in the way front, and the barely-walking-it-through at the back. For everyone else, it's a joke. People, they run out of water even in when it's perfect conditions. Part of that is due to water hogs -- remember the hydration deaths a couple years back?

Meanwhile, just north in Milwaukee -- the Lakefront Marathon (runners: 2000 or less) finished with nary a hitch.

So if you're just so committed to running, might I suggest you find yourself another race. This is a party, it's only a marathon in name only.

And if you expect me to cry because you didn't get to finish: welcome to my sorry world of nordic ski racing, kiddos, where we don't even get damn snow anymore.

Stephanie,

Time for some perspective. I suggest you find a real problem to spend your time "processing". You claim that you are not happy. Please - simply be happy that you have the ability to run.

I was a spectator at the race (miles 5 and 11); at Mile 5, it mostly looked like a normal race, but by Mile 11, you could see that something was up, some folks had begun walking, a few were running but looked like they were going to drop, and spectators had begun handing out bottled waters, etc. It was already really hot, even at that point in the race -- even cheering from the sidelines got you sweating, so the runners were really getting hit by the temperatures.

LaSalle Bank, who organizes/sponsors the marathon, was recently acquired by Bank of America -- although this doesn't get talked about, I kind of wondered if with the new ownership, perhaps different people were handling the marathon than usual? Since the organizers went into high-spin mode in the wake of the debacle, I don't know whether that had any effect on the planning and organizing.

I wonder if it was just a combination of problems, like the (possibly inexperienced?) organizers not preparing well enough, and some runners taking more than their share of water, and the nasty heat and humidity taking its toll, exacerbating the problem.

I just started training for next year's Chicago Marathon. I figured that if I work towards it slowly then I'll easily be in good shape. What happened this year is deplorable, and there needs to be some serious adjustments. I doubt that anything will happen, but I await some good news.

And to the anonymous coward who tried to make this a "healthy" guilt trip, own up and identify yourself. Running a Marathon is a major undertaking, and a significant commitment, and something that doesn't require the ability to run to participate in. The time and effort spent to prepare the body to run a marathon and the accomplishment of completing it is something to be cherished.

Yes, LaSalle Bank was recently acquired by Bank of America. Like a week ago. Although the merger has been in the works for some months, the final approval by government regulators only just took place, far too late to effect the marathon, which is in fact operated by another organization. This marathon, by the way has been running for 30 years, so they do have some experience.

First of all, all the good words regarding the citizens of Chicago are spot on. There was one street with people on both sides holding their hoses and lawn sprinklers out to the runners. They were handing out bottles of water and Gatorade. People of Chicago: You rock.

Organizers of the race: You suck. Really. How can you be so poorly prepared on the 30th anniversary of a race? You think you'd have it down by now. You knew it was going to be hot. How can you be surprised that people would be guzzling water early on a hot day? Have not one of you ever run a long race?

The kicker is that 10,000 of the 45,000 participants decided not to run. So even with a smaller crowd of 35,000, you still ran out of water while ironically standing beside one of the largest bodies of fresh water on the planet.

I agree with the observation that racers should be prepared for the race. I carried my water and had my brother waiting for me at mile 12 with more fuel. But still, when you pay to get into the race (not to mention the cost of flights & hotel), you expect a certain level of preparation on the part of the race organizers.

Just to summarize: People of Chicago ROCK. Race organizers SUCK.