2 min readRace organizers canceled the Richmond Runfest marathon due to extreme heat while 1,000 runners were still on the course, according to the Evening Standard. Temperatures hit close to 90 degrees in Richmond, England, which is outside of London.
After two water stations were depleted, officials told participants the race was canceled and they should walk to the finish, according to the Standard.
Tom Bradford, the race director, issued a statement earlier this week that said, “We made many mistakes yesterday, and we must do better in similar circumstances. If I had the opportunity again, we would have certainly canceled the marathon if not the whole event.”
There was a 10K on Saturday, the day before the half marathon and marathon, which didn’t result in any hospitalizations. That result made organizers feel “in control of the situation” for the longer distances with added medical presence, according to the statement.
According to Bradford, at least 10 runners were sent to the hospital during Sunday’s events, but there were no deaths.
The London Ambulance Service told the Standard that “at 11:08 a.m. on Sunday, we received the first of a number of 999 calls relating to people becoming unwell during the Richmond Half Marathon.”
The service sent 11 ambulance crews to the race, a medic in a fast-response car, an incident response officer, and members of its Hazardous Area Response Team. It treated 13 people at the scene, 10 of whom were transported to the hospital, the Standard reported.
Bradford said his group “clearly miscalculated” the number of people who needed more than two cups of water at each aid station, noting they underestimated how much water runners would need to cool down in the extreme temperatures.
In his statement, Bradford tried to explain the thought process behind canceling a race with 1,000 runners on the course: “In short, we focused on the marathon runners who were the furthest away and dealing with the issue of some water stations running out of water. We needed to keep our runners safe but also ... had to get them back to the finish ... We needed runners to be aware of the situation and to essentially slow down and look after themselves so we could relieve pressure on the medical team.”
Social media commenters had mixed feelings on how the pre-race communication and subsequent cancellation was handled, but many thanked the small race group for its apology.
Heather is the former food and nutrition editor for Runner’s World, the author of The Runner’s World Vegetarian Cookbook, and a nine-time marathoner with a best of 3:23. She’s also proud of her 19:40 5K and 5:33 mile. Heather is an RRCA certified run coach.
