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Lead Stories: Friday, September 5, 2008

Race Directors To Discuss 2007 Chicago Marathon
Issues at RRM Meeting

Posted October 18th, 2007 at 7:22 PM by Jamal Walker

Section: News & Results, Marathons

The Road Race Management Race Directors’ Meeting has added a mini forum titled: “Issues Relating to the Recent Chicago Marathon” to their schedule for Saturday, Nov. 10.

Prior to this session they will discuss the role of a race spokesperson, which will touch on some of the issues generated by the extreme heat at Chicago, but the extra allotted session will afford additional time to discuss, digest and exchange views about what happened in Chicago, why it happened, and the reactions of the participants, the public and the media.

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Video: Chicago Runners Can Finish At Denver Marathon

Posted October 11th, 2007 at 1:52 PM by Jeanie Rebb

Section: News & Results, Marathons

The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon was stopped mid-way through due to high temperatures and extreme humidity on race day.

However, now Denver Marathon officials are offering free registration to Chicago runners who want to get to the finish line.

Click here for the press release and check out the video below to watch CBS4 Denver’s report on this unique situation:

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Chicago Marathon ‘07:
By the Numbers . . .

Posted October 7th, 2007 at 7:50 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Today’s LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon was both a thrilling and tragic event. Here’s a look at the 30th edition of the race by the numbers:

It was Chicago’s slowest men’s finish time in 12 years (1995 winner, Ritva Lemettinen (FIN) finished in 2:11:18), continuing a trend set by a majority of the year’s World Marathon Major events (Haile Gebrselassie’s world record of 2:04:26 in Berlin being the lone exception thus far in 2007). See the chart below to compare finish times over the last decade.

One runner tragically died during the race. Several news agencies have reported that the deceased was a 35 year old man named Chad Schieber of Midland, Michigan. He was pronounced dead, presumably from heat-related causes, shortly before 1 p.m. at a Veteran’s Affairs hospital, the Cook County medical examiner’s office. An autopsy was scheduled for Monday.

250 people were taken to the hospital for heat-related ailments.

Almost 10,000 of the 45,000 registrants did not start the race because of the heat.

At 88°F, it was the hottest (and most humid) Chicago Marathon in history. The previous race-day high was 84°F in 1979.

Less than 0.05 seconds separated men’s winner Patrick Ivuti from runner-up Jaouad Gharib. It was the closest finish in the Chicago Marathon’s 30 year history.

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Chicago Marathon ‘07: It is now 87 degrees in Chicago!

Posted October 7th, 2007 at 10:35 AM by Jeremy Sussman

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Special Features, Live Race Coverage

These runners are really starting to feel the heat and memories of the hot Flora London marathon last April are setting in.

The temperatures in Chicago are now a sweltering 87 degrees Fahrenheit!

This heat will undoubtedly be an deciding factor in the final miles.

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Check back often for TheFinalSprint.com’s LIVE coverage of the 2007 Chicago Marathon, sponsored by Ultima Replenisher, at:

http://chicago.thefinalsprint.com

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Chicago Marathon ‘07: Ivanova and Adere trying to break away at 14 miles

Posted October 7th, 2007 at 10:20 AM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Special Features, Live Race Coverage

Women are through 14 miles in 1:20:12 and ran the last mile in 5:36. The sun is directly in the face of the runners, causing some to struggle with the heat and some to feel blinded.

At this point, Ivanova, and Adere are trying to break the pack of 5 women and make their move.

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Check back often for TheFinalSprint.com’s LIVE coverage of the 2007 Chicago Marathon, sponsored by Ultima Replenisher, at:

http://chicago.thefinalsprint.com

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

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Five helpful tips for a healthy, active summer of running and overall fitness

Posted June 25th, 2007 at 9:00 AM by thefinalsprint.com

Section: Running & Training, Injury & Rehab, Motivation, Nutrition, Healthy Eating, Supplements, Health & Fitness, Injury & Rehab, Exercise

The following article was written by TFS guest contributor Dr. Larry Robinson. For more about Dr. Robinson, check out the “About Dr. Robinson” section at the conclusion of the article.

1. Use the summer weather to increase your outdoor activity:

“From running and baseball games in the park to weekend getaways hiking, biking and canoeing, summer’s the perfect time to get in shape without a daily trip to the gym,” says Dr. Robinson. “Use the season to start a new sport you’ve always been interested in that can carry you through the holidays, New Year’s resolutions and colder weather.”

Of course check with your physician first if you have any physical concerns, and always start off easy. If you’re prone to heat stroke or exhaustion, take advantage of dusk and dawn to complete your fitness activity. And, as always, drink plenty of water and don’t forget the sunscreen for daytime outdoor activities.
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Exercising in hot weather and the body’s need for salt

Posted May 31st, 2007 at 11:00 AM by Jamal Walker

Section: Nutrition, Hydration, Health & Fitness, Exercise

Fatigue during hot-weather exercise is caused by lack of water, salt, sugar or calories. Of the four, exercisers are most ignorant of their sodium needs. A study from The University of Otago in New Zealand shows that taking a salty drink prior to competition can help an athlete to exercise longer and harder. (Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, January, 2007; and Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, January 2007).

Athletes who took the salty drink had larger blood volumes and greater endurance. Salt makes you thirsty earlier so you drink more, and salt in your body holds water so you have more water available to meet your needs.
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Q & A Will a cold drink improve my performance during hot-weather competition?

Posted March 19th, 2007 at 12:29 PM by Martin Kennedy

Section: Nutrition, Hydration

It may. During hard exercise, particularly in hot weather, you sweat and lose a lot of water and salt. Your performance does not suffer until you lose a very large amount of fluid, about five percent of your body weight or more.

However, when you lose so much fluid that your performance suffers, you cannot catch up during that competition. That’s why you need to take in fluids during events that last more than 90 minutes. If your event lasts more than 2.5 hours, you also need to take in calories and salt.

According to a study from The University of Birmingham in England, cold drinks taste better so you will drink more (Experimental Physiology, September 2006). The researchers concluded that cold drinks also improve endurance during hot weather by acting as a heat sink, decreasing the rise in body temperature and therefore reducing the effects of heat stress.
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