Manitoba Marathon returns with revised communication plan after last year's race called off due to heat

Enhanced communication is at the forefront of the Manitoba Marathon's revamped approach, the event's executive director says, following mid-race cancellation forced by extreme heat last year.

Executive director Rachel Munday said Tuesday a handful of revised procedures are in place ahead of the 45th Manitoba Marathon, set for June 18, including updates to volunteer training, a more prominent use of the event's course condition update system and moving the operations room of the race from an off-site location closer to the event.

"We've definitely done a lot of inward looking and are very confident that should anything occur again, that we definitely have a great communication plan and we'll be able to deal with it," said Munday.

Last year's event was called off roughly 75 minutes after it began, owing to the fact that wet-bulb readings — which assess a runner's exposure to heat stress — eclipsed the recommended 30 C threshold.

The temperature was already 25 C by 7 a.m. that day, and climbed to a high of 37 C, according to Environment Canada.

Participants in the five- and 10-kilometre races were allowed to complete their runs, but the 21-kilometre half-marathon, the relay, the 42-kilometre full marathon at the 50-kilometre ultra marathon events were cancelled. Some runners, however, said there wasn't clear communication the races had been called off.

Munday said one of the comments from last year's race was the marathon should use a flagging system to alert participants to course conditions — something that's actually been in place for decades, she said.

"The fact that we've had it for decades and that nobody has realized means we haven't communicated that well enough," she said. 

Course updates, including flagging