This was the front page of the Review-Journal this morning:
http://www.lvrj.com/news/marathon-runners-say-they-were-sickened-135233493.html
(ugh, sorry I can't make it clicky. Maybe one day I'll learn).
Just so you know, the headline reads "Marathon Runners Say They Were Sickened."
A 50-year old woman - who has run 26 full and half marathons this year - reported feeling sick during the race. The water tasted funny, but she didn't bring her own water, so she was forced to drink the water supplied on the course. She noted seeing fire hydrants opened, and the water being poured into large containers. Volunteers - some gloveless - then dipped cups into the barrels and served them to runners. This woman had terrible cramping, similar to childbirth (hmm, that sounds familiar) and was unable to finish the race. She was taken to a local hospital and treated for dehydration and hypothermia after suffering bouts of vomiting and explosive diarrhea.
This is in addition to what I heard at boot camp yesterday morning. People from my running team were there, and we were discussing the race and how it went for everyone. One woman, who was in a corral further back (and thus finished much later than I did, because 40,000 people were in front of her) casually asked, "Yeah, did you see Mandalay Bay at the end of the night? It was covered in puke. People were laying everywhere, and tons of people were vomiting all over the place."
Um...
It's weird, because when I brought this up to my friends yesterday (non-running friends), I was like, "Doesn't that seem weird? So many people getting sick?" But we all just shrugged since we didn't know any better.
Needless to say, today I am livid.
Were we given bad water? Was the race so poorly organized that quality control checks were ignored and the safety and health of the runners put in jeopardy? People could have died as a result of excessive dehydration. Combined with cold temps, this is a recipe for disaster.
I believe the first two things out of my mouth when I finished (and Brian can back me up on this), as I huddled there, sobbing, was "That was the worst experience of my life" and "I totally understand how people die during marathons." Because that's how I felt - like I was dying. And as I've gone over in my head now for three days, I've run 12 miles previously - easily - and an extra 1.1 mile should not have put me over the edge like that. It was mile 9 that killed me, which makes no sense.
I'm just so mad right now. I don't know if these race officials or public health officials know what it's like to train for something - and for me, it was a deeply emotional decision to run the half - and then have it literally blow up in your face. Ignorance is never a defense, and if indeed we were poisoned, they need to make this right.
Because as much as Sunday night sucked, the last few days have been no picnic either. I've been beating myself up about my shoddy performance, ruminating on what I did wrong, and doubting my drive and level of commitment.
And also, official times were posted on Tuesday, and my time was as bad as I thought. I didn't start off with 8-minute miles; there was only a 2 minute stagger from the gun going off to me crossing the start line. I was running my normal 10-minute mile, so I should not have buckled at mile 9.
Stupid water. Stupid me for checking my hydration belt.
This really makes me mad.
Grr...will post more info as it comes out.
to be continued...
http://www.lvrj.com/news/marathon-runners-say-they-were-sickened-135233493.html
(ugh, sorry I can't make it clicky. Maybe one day I'll learn).
Just so you know, the headline reads "Marathon Runners Say They Were Sickened."
A 50-year old woman - who has run 26 full and half marathons this year - reported feeling sick during the race. The water tasted funny, but she didn't bring her own water, so she was forced to drink the water supplied on the course. She noted seeing fire hydrants opened, and the water being poured into large containers. Volunteers - some gloveless - then dipped cups into the barrels and served them to runners. This woman had terrible cramping, similar to childbirth (hmm, that sounds familiar) and was unable to finish the race. She was taken to a local hospital and treated for dehydration and hypothermia after suffering bouts of vomiting and explosive diarrhea.
This is in addition to what I heard at boot camp yesterday morning. People from my running team were there, and we were discussing the race and how it went for everyone. One woman, who was in a corral further back (and thus finished much later than I did, because 40,000 people were in front of her) casually asked, "Yeah, did you see Mandalay Bay at the end of the night? It was covered in puke. People were laying everywhere, and tons of people were vomiting all over the place."
Um...
It's weird, because when I brought this up to my friends yesterday (non-running friends), I was like, "Doesn't that seem weird? So many people getting sick?" But we all just shrugged since we didn't know any better.
Needless to say, today I am livid.
Were we given bad water? Was the race so poorly organized that quality control checks were ignored and the safety and health of the runners put in jeopardy? People could have died as a result of excessive dehydration. Combined with cold temps, this is a recipe for disaster.
I believe the first two things out of my mouth when I finished (and Brian can back me up on this), as I huddled there, sobbing, was "That was the worst experience of my life" and "I totally understand how people die during marathons." Because that's how I felt - like I was dying. And as I've gone over in my head now for three days, I've run 12 miles previously - easily - and an extra 1.1 mile should not have put me over the edge like that. It was mile 9 that killed me, which makes no sense.
I'm just so mad right now. I don't know if these race officials or public health officials know what it's like to train for something - and for me, it was a deeply emotional decision to run the half - and then have it literally blow up in your face. Ignorance is never a defense, and if indeed we were poisoned, they need to make this right.
Because as much as Sunday night sucked, the last few days have been no picnic either. I've been beating myself up about my shoddy performance, ruminating on what I did wrong, and doubting my drive and level of commitment.
And also, official times were posted on Tuesday, and my time was as bad as I thought. I didn't start off with 8-minute miles; there was only a 2 minute stagger from the gun going off to me crossing the start line. I was running my normal 10-minute mile, so I should not have buckled at mile 9.
Stupid water. Stupid me for checking my hydration belt.
This really makes me mad.
Grr...will post more info as it comes out.
to be continued...
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