The Chicago Marathon was canceled for the first time Sunday as the heat and humidity put over 300 runners in ambulances, hospitalized 49 and took the life of a 35-year-old man.
Chad Schieber of Midland, Mich was pronounced dead after collapsing in the 18th mile. Four runners have died in the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon’s 30-year existence, but never have so many been reduced to unconsciousness or suffered nausea, heart palpitations and dizziness as on Sunday.
“It was absolutely insane,” said Trinity International University (TIU) senior Laura Della Torre. She was one of several TIU Athletic Training students that volunteered at the race-sponsored aid stations.
Libertyville’s Condell Medical Center employs Certified Athletic Trainers for the Marathon. TIU’s Athletic Training Program Director Karl Glass works in conjunction with Condell to provide TIU Athletic Training students the opportunity for monitored volunteer work and experience to earn clinical education hours in order to sit for the National Athletic Training Certification exam – a graduation requirement.
Senior Athletic Training students Kate Nelson and Christy Bullmore could be found sweating alongside Della Torre between miles 17 and 18, running quarter-mile sprints with wheelchairs to pick up and haul collapsed runners to the medical tent.
Early on about every 15 minutes a dizzy runner would visit the tent. But that number increased suddenly to an average of two-dozen people at any given time until the race was cancelled at 11:30 a.m., said Della Torre.
Three cots, five chairs and the floor at this station were shared by thousands of dehydrated runners over the course of the race. The volunteers responded to all needs – Notified emergencies, monitored temperatures and treated rolled ankles. They also distributed Vaseline and Band Aids for common chaffing and blisters, and gels, power bars, and water for nutrition and hydration.
The highest temperature Della Torre took that day was 108 degrees. Brain cells are destroyed at such high body temperatures. The man was unresponsive, unconscious and injected with two IVs, one was a chemical-seven solution – containing essential fluids beyond the normal sodium-chlorine saline.
City ambulances outside of Chicago responded to the surplus of calls and it took 45 minutes for one to retrieve the athlete now reduced to a comatose patient, said Della Torre.
Over 35 thousand runners began the Chicago Marathon and less than 25 thousand finished the race, according to race officials.
TIU student Graham Hallen was about four hours into the race at mile 23 when a marathon official with a megaphone announced, “The Marathon has been canceled, please walk.” Graham completed the race at 5 hours 6 minutes and 10 seconds. He survived the heat, but had surgery on his foot the following Thursday.
Athletic Director Patrick Gilliam finished his sixth marathon at 5:25:28, and TIU student Danielle Plantz finished at 5:51:04 – both an hour after their anticipated time.
“Running is now a felony, please walk,” said another course official.
