Dallas Marathon 2013 Canceled Due to Inclement Weather, Low Temperatures

The Dallas Marathon was canceled Friday due to safety concerns related to cold weather and icy conditions, according to Sarah Mervosh of The Dallas Morning News.

Winter storms hit northern Texas hard over the last week, and the mixture of snow, freezing rain and low temperatures made the conditions for holding a marathon unsafe.

Dallas police and city officials were consulted and agreed with the decision to cancel the race.

Saturday’s scheduled event would have been the 44th Dallas Marathon, and this is the first time the race will not be run as scheduled.

Unfortunately, the thousands of runners who had planned to run in the event won't be getting their money back, according to Mervosh, and cancelling the race will cost the city and its businesses millions. The fees were around $100 per person. 

According to the Associated Press (via ABC News), 25,000 runners were expected to take part in the event. However, "the storm forced the cancellation of about 1,000 flights at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport."

Organizers of the Dallas Marathon released a prepared statement: "We regret that the race will not go on as planned, but are confident this decision is in the best interest of our runners, volunteers, spectators and the general public."  

Businesses and schools across the area were closed Friday due to the weather, and the city was facing a reported 250,000 power outages. 

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