Boston Marathon Deferral Policy:Thoughts

The people at the Boston Marathon decided to create a deferral policy so that people who thought it was hot out could essentially avoid the heat. Now grant it with other major marathons their have been issues of severe injuries or deaths as a result of the heat.  For instance  their was the Chicago Marathon in 2007 where one person died and more than 300 people sought medical attention.  However it is important to note the difference between the Chicago Marathon and the Boston Marathon is the level of prestige between the two races.

With that being I tend to lean towards not approving of the deferral policy. Yes it is well known the dangers of running in the heat. But at the end of the day this is a sporting event. A sporting event that requires a qualifying time making it in my opinion a professional sporting event in a way.  A majority of the athletes are experienced runners who are knowledgeable about running in the heat. Again this is a sporting event, a professional sporting event. Imagine if a Pro Football game were canceled because of the rain, people it would look bad for the sport that embodies toughness. The two similarities between the two sports in the level of toughness that it takes to participate in them. At the end of the day there is a fine line between being safe and being competitive. Is that fair to other runner who qualify for the first time next year if they can't get in because of the amount of runners who got a free pass for next years? I would think not. What if one of those runners decided to stop running and just hopped in for the next race.

Let me know what your thoughts are on this!

Thanks For Reading!!

Keep Running!!