Published: 6:35 p.m. EDT, September 13, 2023 | Updated: 7:27 p.m. EDT, September 13, 2023
Runners in this weekend’s Sydney Marathon have been warned of the high temperatures looming over the weekend as the city is blanketed by a thick cloud of smoke caused by the receding bushfires.
The warmest weather since April is expected to hit southeast Australia in the coming days, with Sydney’s city center and inner east – where the marathon is taking place – expected to hit at least 28C on Sunday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
While the race features staggered starts from 5:45 a.m. across two shorter events, the 42km main race begins at 7:10 a.m. – meaning some competitors won’t finish until around 2 p.m., running through the heat of the day must.
A top trainer has warned runners they should be aware of the danger posed by the heat.
“My biggest training tip would be to reduce effort by 10 percent, but I know people won’t do that and then people will struggle,” said triathlon coach Danny Moore Daily Telegraph.
The 17,000 runners who will take on the 42km route through central Sydney on Sunday have been warned about the dangers of a heatwave (pictured: participants in last year’s Sydney Marathon).
Some participants have told organizers to bring forward the start time for the 42km event to 7.10am to ensure their safety (pictured, runners from last year’s race).
“The contrast between no heat exposure at all and real heat without adaptation is going to cause problems.”
Moore added that those most at risk were the slower runners, who were likely to have trained less than their faster counterparts.
A concerned participant called on organizers to change the start time of the race to accommodate the heat.
“Please bring back the start time to reduce the carnage of people dropping like flies from the heat,” they wrote on the Sydney Marathon Facebook page.
“What would make the most sense, and has been the case for years, would be to have the marathon start at 6 a.m. and the half marathon a little later, rather than the other way around,” another runner added.
A top trainer has warned that runners should reduce their effort by 10 per cent to ensure their safety in the heat – but he fears they won’t do so
The race organizers emphasized that their most important task was to pay attention to the health of the participants.
“The safety and well-being of our participants is our top priority and we are working closely with stakeholders including the Rural Fire Service and the Bureau of Meteorology,” said race director Wayne Larden.
Organizers also told runners on Facebook that the start time of the 21km run had been pushed back to 6 a.m. to ensure all runners had left the course when the longest run of the day began and to ensure safety increase.
Police estimate a total of 42,000 people will take part in the five Sydney Marathon events on Sunday, including 17,000 in the 42km race – and one of them has already predicted that there will be difficulties for some of them due to the heat becomes.
“I don’t think it’s going to be an enjoyable run for the people who come,” runner Hany Yacoub told the publication.
The smoke in Sydney was so bad that the city was among the five worst places in the world for air quality this week – but organizers had some good news on the matter
“Training through the winter and then going into a hot race day is not really ideal and not beneficial.”
The haze of smoke that has hung over Sydney since Monday is so thick that Thursday night’s NRLW game between the Wests Tigers and Newcastle was moved from its original venue in Campbelltown to the city’s inner west, where more risk reduction fires are a concern.
Sydney had one of the world’s five worst air quality ratings on Wednesday due to the smoke, and residents were urged to stay indoors if possible and limit outdoor physical activity.
However, the Rural Fire Service (RFS) has told marathon runners that haze will be drastically reduced leading up to race day.
“We have contacted RFS and the RFS has informed us that the large burns that caused the haze have ended,” Larden said.
“Their modeling shows that air quality will improve dramatically by Friday and Saturday and will be relatively good on Sunday. “So from an air quality perspective, things are looking good.”
