Cancelled half marathon

Does seem a bit extreme Jess, I hardly think a bit of rain constitutes much of a problem!

Could they not have concentrated the water on the part of the course for which it would be enough and sent someone to the cash and carry for the rest, with instructions to be back before the runners reached the waterless points? Meanwhile marshalls stationed at that point could hold up a big sign saying "No water from here on until suplies get here". An anouncement at the start would let the runners know what was happening.

I wonder if the Greek herald running from the battle of Marathon with the news had enough water?

Elegran he probably had a support team going alongside him in a chariot!

Elf n safety gone mad again. SIL and DD go in for that sort of thing and I can imagine how disappointed and annoyed the runners must have been

And a TV crew filming for Athens Tonight.

Useless organisation too - they must have known in advance how many runners there would be and how much water was needed.

And a scribe with a tablet (non electronic kind) ready to ask questions such as "So herald, how does it feel to be tackling this on your own, do you get lonely?"

Yep, 'elf 'n safety, the nanny state and the fear of litigation all rearing their heids

Total chaos! And the police put up an ineffective road block to try to stop the race. The runners ran anyway.

Why didnt someone go to the Cash n Carry and buy some bl**dy water?

What a shambles.

Sounds like something from Keystone Cops,surely Supermarkets on route would have supplied free of charge just for the free advertising

Did nobody have a tap and a bucket?

I understand from the midday news that their water supplier screwed up with the order. The trouble is if there had been a serious problem the public would have bleated that it wasn't properly organised, not safe and sued.

If your'e on a half marathon you cannot just stop and go into a shop to buy your own, you really would need supplies to just grab as you run past.

I really don't know what the liability situation would have been. If too many collapsed and were in a really bad way my DD's night shift tonight could have been busy.

You wonder how man ever got to the moon really.

Well I felt very sorry for the organisers actually, obviously also for the runners..

The company failed to deliver water bowser's and they did apparently try to get as much bottled water as possible but there was insufficient to pass the stringent health requirements. We are talking about thousands of runners! It is a fact that water would be required and dehydration is no joke.

It does seem a bit 'nanny statish' but there was actually a big problem for the organisers. They would have been 'slated' had it gone ahead and just one runner hospitalised.

Another damned if they do, damned if they don't situation.

Didn't Pheidippides drop dead after announcing the Athenian victory?

Ah yes but that was a whole marathon absent

And Greece is slightly warmer that April in Sheffield!

Bet he was dehydrated though.

People have died doing the Great North Run in Newcastle, which is a half-marathon.
I think the organisers did the only thing they could to protect both themselves and the runners.

Actually Greece can be quite cold in the winter, especially in the mountains, but a) I know nothing about the topography of the route from Marathon to Athens and b) what time of year the battle was fought. I do know the tactics, however, as I was on one of the Athenian wings, armed with a ruler, when we acted out the battle in the Lower Fourth.

Lower Fourth - there's a blast from the past!

Long, long past Ana! However, the teaching technique certainly worked if I can still remember it.