Last Sunday, the Chicago Marathon unexpectedly became the posterchild for everything that can go wrong in a race.  With higher-than-expected temperatures of 85-degrees and stifling humidity, 300 runners required medical attention either on site or at nearby hospitals.  By midday, watering stations were bone-dry, and the race was shut down.

The disaster occurred just a short seven-day-sprint before the Long Beach Marathon, which will run this Sunday.  The crew has heeded warnings from Chicago, and Director of Race Operations Stacy Embretson explains that we will not see a Windy City repeat.

“Any marathon has its issues to worry about,” Embretson said.  “I think [Chicago organizers] did the best they could and made a good call in shutting down the race for the safety of the runners.”

Embretson said that she does not expect to see a similar scenario this weekend – mainly due to Long Beach’s lack of humidity – but that marathons of this magnitude are always at the mercy of the weather.  The reason so many marathons nationwide are held this time of year is for the scenery – changing leaves, cool breeze, comfortable atmosphere.  But conditions can be unpredictable.

“We had 85-degree temperatures last year,” Embretson said, “So we kind of planned ahead.  Fortunately we don’t have the humidity here.”

With 16,000 participants – up from 15,000 in 2006’s race – all necessary precautions have been taken to ensure safety.  Organizers over-planned, in fact, with more water stations than usual, even before the race in Chicago.  Eight medical stations are also in place along the length of the course.

Long Beach organizers are more than prepared to tackle the challenges of throwing such a massive event, but should the unthinkable happen, Embretson will be ready to pull the plug on the event.

“It must have been heartbreaking,” she says.  “But you have to be willing to do it.”

With the amount of planning and concern for safety, combined with the beautiful conditions expected this Sunday, Embretson will not have to worry about such a decision. 

Runners need only be concerned with setting their P.R.