Boston Marathon 2012: Weather Updates for Patriot's Day

With Patriot’s Day in Boston, Mass. being one of the most special in their local lore, the hype that surrounds the main event of the Boston Marathon has been tampered with poor weather forecasts.

Most people think of rain being the main culprit behind marathon failures, but the possibility of a heat wave is far worse. A wet runner that can breathe properly is better than a dry runner that is suffering the effects of running through the heat.

Monday’s event is forecast to be in the upper-80s, with a possibility of hitting 90 at the pinnacle of the day. As if running 26.2 miles wasn’t hard enough, the added heat will test the endurance of even the greatest runners.

Boston Athletic Association’s co-medical director Pierre D'Hemecourt told Reuters about the heat wave hitting the east coast and which runners should not be participating:

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If the temperatures reach certain levels, running will put even the most fit athletes at risk for heat injury…If you have underlying medical problems, such as cardiac disease or respiratory disease, think about not running. If you have a cough or cold, or had recent gastro-enteritis, don't run…This is not the day to be running your personal best.

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With so much history surrounding the day and the marathon, there will be people who run the race as a tradition that have never seen this heat during the event before. That makes the concerns about injury and heat stroke legitimate.

As if there weren’t going to be enough hydration stations along the route, you can expect the effort to keep the runners hydrated to be doubled or tripled. The last thing the event organizers would want is someone seriously injuring themselves on such a special day.

There is really no way for the organizers to reschedule the event, so doing everything they can to discourage the runners that shouldn’t be pushing themselves in the heat is really all they can do.

For those running, stay hydrated and be careful!

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