By now many of you have heard about the Chicago marathon gone bad over the weekend where hundreds of runners suffered heat exhaustion in unseasonably warm Chicago heat and one person actually died. Here's the recount from one surviving runner.
"I was drenched in sweat, completely soaked, after only mile one, and that is very unusual," said Emily Schuster, 25, a New Yorker who had trained for the event since June. "And then somebody collapsed before the halfway point, before even mile 13, and I thought: 'OK, it must be hot, they must be old.' But then at mile 15, there's a stretch where you turn into the sun and run for several miles, and people started dropping like flies. Older, younger, men, women —every couple of steps you saw someone collapsing with ice on their head."
Clearly horrifying and all on the heels of the Denver marathon. I dare miss the chance to quote a line from my favorite movie "The Fugitive" and I'll gladly beckon the stern voice of United States Marshal Samuel Gerard when I say "It's time to stop running!"
How many more people are we going to lose to marathons? How many more children are going to be dragged down the street by some shirtless Mr. Clean wannabee (see picture). It's time we pass federal mandates banning all running unless, in the words of my wife, "you are being chased." It's just not worth it anymore. I know what you're thinking. Will this trigger some kind of prohibition-type backlash where people are secretly running in their basements? Perhaps. But it is a small price to pay to take runners off the street. I'll also enjoy not feeling lazy anymore. Fast walking will, however, still be allowed.
