Chicago Marathon: more than two hundred hospitalized, one dead

Heat and humidity made Chicago marathon impossible to finish for many runners as one of them died.

Chad Schieber, a 35-year-old police officer, collapsed and was pronounced dead shortly before 1 p.m. at a Veteran's Affairs hospital, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. An autopsy was scheduled for Monday.

At least 49 people were taken to hospitals, while another 250 were treated onsite, many for heat-related ailments. Chicago Fire Department officials said they used 30 ambulances from area suburbs. Three people were in critical condition at Northwestern Memorial Hospital late Sunday, according to spokeswoman Jennifer Monasteri.

About 10,000 of the 45,000 registered runners never even showed up for the 30th annual race, while another 10,934 started but didn't finish, officials said.

Organizers closed the second half of the course at 11:30 a.m., 3Ѕ hours after the race started. By 10 a.m., temperatures had already reached a race-record 31 degrees C (88 F).

Runners who hadn't reached the halfway point were diverted to the start and finish area, while those on the second half of the course were advised to drop out, walk or board cooling buses, Platt said.

Race director Carey Pinkowski said organizers were concerned that emergency medical personnel wouldn't be able to keep up with heat-related injuries as the weather turned more cruel.

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Author`s name Angela Antonova
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