Runners outraged after local Ontario marathon ran out of water
Some participants had to resort to getting water from bottles on the side of the road, discarded by earlier runners
A marathon in Ontario’s picturesque Prince Edward County is under scrutiny following a severe water shortage in 24 C weather, which left 600 runners searching for answers.
Despite assuring on their website that water stations would be available every two kilometres during the second half of the marathon, some runners were shocked to find no cups, no volunteers and worst of all, no water after 28 km.
One participant voiced their disappointment, stating, “It was deplorable. The stations were set up but there was no one manning them: no cups, no roadside marshals and no water.”
Instead of the expected water cups, the race provided full-size Gatorade and water bottles due to the lack of volunteers, which many described as “impractical” and “a waste.” Some runners had to resort to getting water from bottles on the side of the road, discarded by earlier runners.
One athlete participating in her first half-marathon said she started to feel lightheaded and nauseous after drinking discarded water in desperation. She eventually resorted to using a hose to hydrate herself at the 17 km mark. “I trained my heart out for this, and I am really disappointed I had to deal with this,” she said, frustrated.
Sunday marked the 20th anniversary of the Prince Edward County Marathon in Picton, Ont., two hours east of Toronto. The race is used by many participants as a qualifying event for the Boston Marathon. “For those aiming for a Boston qualifier, seconds can be everything,” said one finisher in an interview. “We do not have time to open bottles and stop and walk to drink.”
The problems for the race did not stop with the water shortage. The organizers reportedly began clearing the course 30 minutes prior to the six-hour cut-off time, which resulted in runners having to ask for directions to the finish.
In a statement provided to Canadian Running, the race organizers acknowledged the challenges of getting volunteers and hosting a race at this time of year. They cited the impact of climate change, which transformed what was intended to be a fall race into a warm summer event. “Climate change has clearly turned our fall race into a summer race. Years of experience did not pay off. We are very sorry for the conditions participants had to deal with.”
The organizers expressed regret for their water miscalculations: “This year we chose bottled water (again), as a post-COVID protocol and the difficulty of finding volunteers to man water stations.” The race reports that almost double the amount of water was consumed in comparison to last year.
The statement from the race organizers went on to extend their apologies to all runners who took part: “We hope that, at some point, all participants return to run this beautiful course.”
Check out the latest buyer's guide:
