totally. :-(

yeah. the heat was insane. i knew it was going to be rough from the start. thick air is not good running conditions. by mile 6 i was steaming.

the entertainment is the best part!

the spectators make it fun too. so many funny signs, and shouts. it's a load of laughs. :-)

thanks, scruffster!

yeah, dude. i was smack in the middle of that craziness!

oh man. it was steaming out there. the temps mixed with body heat and the heat reflecting off of the asphalt made is incredibly hot.

thanks for thinking of me, pam! i wasn't dying, but unfortunately someone else was.

:-(

oh man... I didn't even stop to think about that. gosh that was poor taste, I'm sorry.

Thanks CTD3. it was a natural chain of events. I wish I would have recorded more, but I was so shocked at all of the things going on around me, i forgot!

If i'm ever in a strange situation like this again, i will focus more. way more.

i carry my camera with me everywhere. even to the supermarket. it's becoming a habit now.

-)

you're welcome, paul.

the media is saying they stopped the race because of the heat, but the runners on the course know why the race was stopped.

they ran out of water and gatorade!

we're thinking it's because the heat was so intense that runners were drinking more water than expected. some witnessed runners grabbing water jugs and dousing themselves over the head instead of using the water for other runners to hydrate with.

either way... it was a planning disaster.

then, once all these peopel started dropping like flies, it put a major strain on the emergency medical units. i was seeing ambulances from towns 40 miles west of chicago. that's when i knew it was really serious.

there were many other problems, but it would take me a while to list them.

thanks, georgie!

hi ian,

they say it got to 90 degrees on the course in some places. i'm guessing that, coupled with body heat, and the heat bouncing off of the asphalt made the conditions extremely unsafe.

I did make it past mile 20! The heat was suffocating, but I thought the safest thing to do was to stop. there wasn't enough water/gatorade to keep us as hydrated as we needed to be.

What I mean is: I think it the medal means a lot more than it does to you right now.

Thanks, Si!


wanna run next year's marathon with me?

;-)

Thanks Capucha!

I think I'm gong to send the medal to my mom. she'll get a kick out of it.

thanks, ben!

sue made it across the finish line in a little over six hours. we lost each other at mile nine. when they stopped the race, they re routed some of us to an alternate route back to the finish line. i'm now learning that others were told to stay yhe course and walk the rest of the way. she was in the pack that was made to stay the course. poor thing.

after running that far, walking that distance is torture. your muscles tighten up and it becomes very uncomfortable. i think it's harder than running at that point.

what a mess!

hi eric,

no. this has never happened before.

I fear that mr. testicles is still running too. poor guy.

In that kind of heat it's a surprise he wasn't stuck to someone's leg.

Awesome reply!!!

the man in the mr. testicles suit was clive worth. weird but true.

The secret is out...that's how he got all those women!

hahahahahha. i just remembered who that dude is.

it was an intense day all the way around.

i love running withmy camera. :-)

when they called it off, i was so pissed that i laughed. then i got concerned. there were so many people passing out on the course. there were bodies all over the place just lying down. it was nuts.

and walking....ooooh..that was rough.

holy crap. I'm on cnn.com? do you have the link?
thanks for letting me know!

cnn.com/2007/US/10/09/marathon.irpt/index.html?iref=newssearch

Your video is out there! Very cool.

Also, I wanted to watch your CNN version of the clip, but alas it is protected. :-(