Good Luck Eric! - JP Fitness Forums

BamaDave · 10-05-2007, 08:54 PM

Sending positive thoughts your way for the marathon and for your knee to be pain-free!

UpNorth · 10-06-2007, 09:33 AM

Good luck and stay hydrated!

twinsavsvikingsfan · 10-06-2007, 09:41 AM

Best of luck! Can't wait to hear about it!

twinsavsvikingsfan · 10-08-2007, 03:29 AM

Hope you stayed cool! It was hot out!

UpNorth · 10-08-2007, 07:15 AM

I hope you and your dad both finished OK. I read it got to 88 degrees on the race course! That is brutal!

Some quotes from an AP article I read:

Quote:

At least 49 people were taken to hospitals, while another 250 were treated onsite, many for heat-related ailments. Chicago Fire Department officials said they used 30 ambulances from area suburbs. Three people were in critical condition at Northwestern Memorial Hospital late Sunday, according to spokeswoman Jennifer Monasteri.

About 10,000 of the 45,000 registered runners never even showed up for the 30th annual race, while another 10,934 started but didn't finish, officials said.

The high heat index prompted organizers to stop the race at 11:30 a.m., about 3 1/2 hours into the run. Runners who hadn't reached the halfway point were diverted to the start and finish area, while those on the second half of the course were advised to drop out, walk or board cooling buses, Platt said.

Race director Carey Pinkowski said organizers were concerned that emergency medical personnel wouldn't be able to keep up with heat-related injuries as the weather turned more cruel.

GG300 · 10-08-2007, 07:18 AM

Somebody at the gym this morning mentioned that someone died and they actually stopped the race. I have to check the Tribune online and see what happened. I thought someone may have posted something here, maybe there is something in OT.

I see I crossed over on post Jeff. I posted the link to the Tribune Article in another thread.

jruck37 · 10-08-2007, 07:56 AM

Sounds like a disaster. Hopefully, Eric is recovering well.

UpNorth · 10-08-2007, 08:27 AM

OK... sorry Eric but I couldn't stand not knowing, reading all of these reports. I looked up your results. I hope you're not angry, but a huge congrats for finishing! Quite an accomplishment!

Eric J Martin | Bib # 17019 | Steamboat Springs, CO - USA | Age 25 | M START
FINISH: 5:02:28
Chip Time: 5:02:28
Clock: 5:24:22
Pace: 11:32

twinsavsvikingsfan · 10-08-2007, 08:37 AM

Congrats on getting through a tough race. I can't imagine running a marathon in 88 degree heat. Recover well, my friend!

GG300 · 10-08-2007, 08:48 AM

Nice Job Eric. Great effort on a tough day.

silly · 10-08-2007, 09:38 AM

Dude! You're a rock star! Congrats on an awesome effort in awful conditions!

ODBSGIRL · 10-08-2007, 10:22 AM

OH MY! I'm happy you were able to finish that one in such nasty heat conditions. YEA for Eric! Check that one off your list. Or....are you just gearing up for the next one?

Phaedrus49er · 10-08-2007, 10:40 AM

Awesome, man, congrats!

emartin10 · 10-08-2007, 12:11 PM

Thanks guys and gals. It was indeed brutal. Aid stations were running out of water and gatorade. The people of Chicago were fantastic - they were out in the streets with garden hoses and ice trays. The firefighters opened all the hydrants. They ran out of paramedics. It was horribly horribly run. I had planned on running the whole race with my dad, and he got so dehydrated by mile 4 (we both hydrated REALLY well on Sat.) that he decided to stop (the first aid station was out of Gatorade, and the second aid station was completely shut down). He ended up going into a grocery store, downing 3 Gatorades in the aisle, and ended up keeping on. He got to mile 17 when they diverted him off the course. He was actually thrilled with how well he bounced back, and I'm really proud of him. I blame the race organizers completely for the fact that we didn't finish together, he was so crushed when the second aid station was shut down, it really just killed his race. At the point where the second aid station SHOULD have been, people were running into a Botanical Garden and drinking out of the fountains. It was chaos. I wouldn't do this race again simply due to the fact that the Race Director is saying there was adequate water supply, and that the runners shouldn't have been taking more than 2 cups per aid station. It's just ridiculous to think that when it's that hot and humid, that runners would skip aid stations and not drink or cool off. He is also just spitting in the face of all the runners by saying there WAS an adequate supply of water. He is a moron.

My knee did in fact give out, and it hurts really really bad, but I gimped my ass through it. I did fine with the heat. I had a fuel belt and filled it at every hydrant for cooling purposes. So even if the weather was better, I still would have had a slower race due to my knee. I was struggling when I hit the mile 25 sign, walk/running, and an angel jumped out of the stands and started running with me, talking me through it.
"C'Mon 5430 (my shirt was from one of my tris run by 5430 Sports in Boulder), You can do this!!!"
"Don't stop, it's just around the corner!"
She talked me through it, asked me questions, took my mind off of the pain. I would have struggled if she hadn't helped, she was an angel.

I leave for my honeymoon tomorrow, so I'll get the knee looked at when I get back, but I think it's pretty bad.

It was a tough first marathon, and it'll take some time for me to decide if I'd ever do another one. I'm super glad I finished, it was a big accomplishment. My dad and I went to Ditka's Steakhouse and ordered some phenominal steaks to celebrate. It was a great day overall, the race was poor, but the Hilton Chicago and Ditka's were phenominal, and my family was great too. It was very successful weekend, and I'm glad to say I've got 26.2 under my belt. Never again at Chicago though.

E

jruck37 · 10-08-2007, 12:17 PM

Wow, Eric. Congratulations on pushing through. I wouldn't have wanted to run 1 mile in Saturday's heat! Have fun on your honeymoon!

GG300 · 10-08-2007, 12:34 PM

Enjoy the Honeymoon you definetely deserve some R & R after that one.

emartin10 · 10-08-2007, 02:02 PM

Thanks guys. It'll be a great trip (Costa Rica and Nicaragua). I'm excited to just go chill. Tomorrow night, I'll be asleep in the Costa Rican Cloud Forest. A rough life I lead...

E

BamaDave · 10-08-2007, 02:41 PM

Eric, congrats on persevering through that race - not only with the hot conditions but also with your knee. That's what happened to me last December at Rocket City (the knee, not the heat) so I know what you're going through - it sucks! I never would have made it through a marathon in that heat.

Sounds like Chicago just wasn't prepared for those kind of temps. I imagine that's very rare for October. A similar thing happened at the Georgia Marathon in Atlanta last March - unexpected early Spring heat. And the same lack of preparation as far as fluids. It's a disaster when runners can't replenish fluids. Too bad the race directors won't just admit they miscalculated and didn't expect the temps to be that bad instead of making excuses (Georgia Marathon director did the same thing).

rgv · 10-08-2007, 05:19 PM

awesome job pushing through what sounds like could have been an absolute disaster! have fun on the honeymoon now