Manitoba Marathon plans for the worst, hopes for the best

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/06/2023 (821 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Extreme heat forced the mid-race cancellation of the Manitoba Marathon in 2022. A revised and improved communication strategy will be in place this year to let runners know if the annual run is halted.

Fortunately, the weather forecast is showing favourable conditions for the marathon, an annual Father’s Day tradition entering its 45th year in Winnipeg.

Approximately 8,000 participants will gather on Chancellor Matheson Road at the University of Manitoba for the 7 a.m. start Sunday.

Last year, a scorching summer morning forced the cancellation of the run just over an hour after it began. A wet-bulb reading, which assesses a runner’s exposure to heat stress, eclipsed the recommended 30 C threshold.

The exact reading was 31.7 C and climbing when the race was called.

Unfortunately, the message didn’t reach many of the runners on the course.

Manitoba Marathon executive director Rachel Munday said last year’s unprecedented event lead the organization to take a hard look at its communication protocols.

“(Last year) allowed us to take a plan that already existed and see where the weaknesses were and where the strengths were and then move forward with some updates and ways to improve it for if something like that were to ever happen again,” said Munday.

A critical piece is the race’s flagging system to alert runners of course conditions, which has been in place for many years. Clearly, many participants were unaware of its implementation.

“Some people commented that we should use a flagging system like some other races use… That was a bit of an eye opener for us because we’ve been using that flagging system for decades. It was present but that told us that runners were not aware of it or they didn’t know what it meant,” said Munday.

The system has been updated so the flags are bigger and more visible at the start line and at every station. Information and explanations about what each flag means is also available in the ‘runner’s handbook’ that each participant receives, and is on the marathon website and on its app.

The marathon currently has green-flag status — excellent conditions with minimal risks — and an email update advising all runners was sent Monday.

Email updates will be sent to runners Wednesday, Friday and Saturday before the race.

One major change in preparation for the marathon this year was having volunteer training done in person rather than being delivered virtually.

“(Last year) we had less staff coming out of (the COVID-19 pandemic) than we did previously. We had amazing volunteers, but people weren’t comfortable yet in the spring meeting in person,” said Munday.

She said the in-person training gave staff the opportunity to better connect with volunteers and convey the race plans.

“This year has been wonderful because we have been able to have those in-person meetings with all of the leads of those key areas on the course,” Munday said.

Another key change is moving the marathon’s ‘control room’ closer to the event so that all the staff are nearby and can meet for hourly updates.

“By being able to have all those key players together in one area at least every hour, (it) will allow us to make very well-informed decisions, and to work together as a group to make sure that if we do need to communicate something out onto the course we are able to do it in a unified fashion,” Munday said.

“We always plan for the worst and hope for the best.”

donald.stewart@freepress.mb.ca