Sunday's Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon could turn out to be one of the warmest ever, prompting organizers and participants to take additional precautions.
Twin Cities in Motion, which hosts the Twin Cities Marathon, announced that marathon weekend events are expected to run under Event Alert System (EAS) Red Flag conditions, meaning those with previous heat stress problems or heart issues should not participate in either Saturday's 10K or Sunday's race itself.
"Runner safety, life safety is out top priority," said race director Eli Asch. "There are some things we're doing, but we're asking runners to do is to be smart and look out for themselves."
Twin Cities Marathon Medical Director Dave Supik released five recommendations for the some 25,000 entrants for weekend events. They include assess your readiness, hydrate, dress "light," go slow, and listen to your body.
Asch telling WCCO Radio's Vineeta Sawkar on Thursday morning that runners will see more cooling stations along the route.
"We'll have extra water at the start line and critical locations around the course," Asch said. "There will be extra cooling supplies, ice water and towels on course for our medical team, and extra water at the finish line along with air conditioning inside the medical tent."
In some circumstances, runners may consider not participating on Sunday.
"Slowing your pace is crucial for runners. The idea they would go 5 or 10 seconds, maybe as many as 45 or 60 seconds or more seconds per mile slower than planned. It's not the day to go for a personal record. It's a day to enjoy the course. We got 300,000 cheering spectators out there."
As for how warm it will be this weekend, running won't be for the faint of heart.
"I think this is going to be the hottest on record for the marathon, and I'm saying mid-80s which is kind of bizarre when you consider the normals now are in the upper 60s, that's where we should be," explains WCCO Radio Chief Meteorologist Paul Douglas.