One man died and ten other people were taken to area hospitals with apparently heat-related injuries after a half-marathon was stopped this morning because of high temperatures, officials said.
The man, Zachary Gregory, 22, was taken from the 7500 block of South South Shore Drive to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 9:52 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
An autopsy for Gregory, of the 2800 block of North Pine Grove Avenue in the Lakeview neighborhood, is scheduled for Sunday.
total of 11 people were taken to local hospitals, said Mary Franco, a spokeswoman for Superior Air-Ground Ambulance Service, Inc. She declined to give any information about their conditions, citing federal privacy regulations.
The CEO of the company that puts on the 13.1 Marathon Chicago, a half-marathon that stepped off starting at 7:13 a.m. at the South Shore Cultural Center, also confirmed that one person died following the race.
"Our thoughts and sympathies go out to the family and friends of the individual who died," said Greg Laird, chief executive of US Road Sports & Entertainment Group, a Dallas-based company that also sponsors the Chicago Half-Marathon in the fall.
Runners were informed via email earlier this week about the possibility of warm weather at race time, with the latest email going out last night, said Jeff Graves, the race's chief organizer in Chicago.
The race started under a so-called yellow flag, which advises runners that temperatures are above the optimal level for a race, Graves said. At 8:51 a.m., the race was put under a red flag, which advises runners temperatures are dangerously high, they should take the race slowly, and official times for the race will not be given out, Graves said. At 9:15 a.m., the race was put under a black flag, stopping the race because of high temperatures and advising runners to either walk or take one of 24 shuttle buses back to the starting line, Graves said.
Organizers had anticipated warm weather, with 10 aid stations with medical personnel and water along the 13-mile route, as well as spray stations at mile markers 4.5 and 9.5, and a wet towel station at mile 7, Laird said.
Fire officials said they had no information on those injured in the race because a private ambulance service was used.
US Road Sports organizes about 25 events throughout the country, and this is the third year of the 13.1 Chicago race. Entry fees for today’s race were on a sliding scale tied to when the 4,000 runners who participated signed up, starting at around $35 just after last year's race, and ending up at $100 yesterday, organizers said.
Tim Ragones, an experienced runner who previously has completed a marathon, a half-marathon and several shorter distance races, said Saturday's conditions were the hottest for any race he had run.
Ragones, 32, passed a handful of people during the last few miles of the course who were receiving medical attention along the course, but said that's not unusual. "You see that happening near the end of any long race," he said.
Race organizers did a good job of making sure they had ample water and sports drinks to hand out to runners at stations along the route, said Ragones, of Lakeview, in a telephone interview. "I drank probably gallons of water" during the race, he said.
"If you were prepared for it, you were going to be OK," he said of the conditions.
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