I checked 3 apps in the days before and had winds showing of 33km/hr gusting to 40 and dropping as the day went on, then to pick up later in the afternoon. I spoke to some of my runners and told them to expect a windy day and to tuck in and run on someone's heels if they were into a headwind.
It was not a freak storm and the strong winds were forecast. For gantries, banners and marquees, advise to add extra and to batten down, not just sandbag or whatever.
It was entirely preventable! And as ChrisF says, the major structures would need signing off. They knew the expected conditions, they knew this is the first real year of candidate status with world marathon majors
CTM in 2023 had stronger winds, through Woodstock, you were getting blown sideways as the wind funneled between the building. The only way to keep my cap on was to turn it backwards, else it kept getting blown off
Abbotts WMM is a financial gold mine and a gigantic tourism industry, based around marathons. In the last 5yrs it has exploded and on the back of it, is a massive financial reward.
Educate why 1.1m entered the ballot for London this year for 50,000 slots. Each and every one of the original 6 is over subscribed. They say you have a better chance odds wise of getting into Harvard than getting a ballot entry.
So on the back of this demand there are now tour operators, marathon tours, sports tours etc, that can guarantee you an entry. You of course pay thousands of USD to go with these companies and this often doesn't include flights.
Then we move to charities where you can also "bid" for your entry, sometimes is hundreds of USD, often thousands.
30,000-50,000 internationals running these events, plus family, better halves bring a huge influx of revenue. Some just flying in then out, but still spend on hotels etc while there. Others will add on vacation after they run.
It all adds up!!
Those desperate chasing their 4, 5 or 6th star, pay fortunes, by the time they do a charity/tour operator, flights, spend, merch they could well be over USD5000 per person per trip if travelling from far.
You think they will be happy paying all this and then having the event cancelled because of wind?
Some of the other majors do offer taking insurance when you enter, whether the tour operators, I doubt it and the charities definitely wont. How this is done, I don't know. Maybe Sanlam will take the insurance cover for those who enter. Be an expensive payout when they have to pay in forex for all the internationals.
Getting Abbott Major Marathon status is big business, so CTM need to up their game and not see it as just another local race and locals will just have to suck it up. They want to move to the big league, so it comes with accountability too!
