Heat forces one of the world’s hottest races to cancel

If you can’t stand the heat, you can always cancel the race.

That’s what the coordinators of the Running with the Devil Marathon had to do on June 29 when the weather conditions in Nevada became hotter than Hades.

Purposely scheduled during the hottest time of year through a burning stretch of Nevada’s Mojave Desert, the marathon’s conditions are far from ideal at the best of times. Completing any of the events (5K to 50 miles) is deadly and comes with the bragging rights of surviving the heat.

This year though, entrants were let off the hook, as temperatures reached 47 degrees celsius in Boulder City, Nevada, and even though there was a 6:00 a.m.start, all events had to be cancelled. According to coordinator Joyce Forier, the race was shut down after she tried every possible avenue and jurisdiction.

The race attracts a few hundred runners each year. It used to start at 10:00 a.m., meaning that runners would have to face the highest temperatures of the day during the one of the warmest periods of the year at the most challenging part of a race. In 2009, a runner collapsed and had to be airlifted. Local authorities then forced the race to start earlier under the threat that insurance would be increased several hundred times.

Running with the Devil’s entrants may now have to find another race to work on their tan in future years. Organizers have not rescheduled the event and are uncertain about its future.

Would-be runners could consider something cooler, such as the Antarctic Ice Marathon, which is set for Novemeber 20, 2013.