Hiruni and 27 others bow out from Marathon in ‘hell’
“My legs aren’t working”, mumbled Sri Lankan Marathoner Hiruni Wijeyarathne as she was being taken away in a wheelchair by medics at the halfway mark of the very first World Championship ‘midnight marathon’ held under extremely trying conditions at the Doha Corniche on Saturday early morning , bringing her brave attempt to a painful and premature end.
Hiruni wasn’t alone in retiring early, with no less than 28 of the world’s top marathoners – including three Ethiopian distance champions ranked the third and fourth fastest in the entry list – giving up the effort without even reaching the halfway mark: some of them being carried out in wheelchairs, others in ambulances.
Only 40 runners finished the race, with very slow times, as Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich won her first global race in a time of 2 hours 32 minutes 43 seconds: the slowest world championship marathon in the 17-edition history of world championships since 1983.
“I don’t know if I am sad or mad at the moment. A marathon should not be contested in 36 degree heat and 80% plus humidity. When I went to the medical tent my core temp was almost 40 degrees. That’s insane”, commented Hiruni after the race.
It was torture even for spectators. Excessive sweating and dehydration made the mere act of standing and waiting for the runners an agonizing experience.
Officials from the International Association of Athletic Federations, track and field’s governing body, went to great lengths ahead of the event to stress how much effort they had devoted to ensure athletes’ safety. Extra water stations and medical personnel were on hand to assist the runners, who did six laps of a seven-kilometer course. But despite all precautions the race proved to be sheer torture.
At the start of the race, everyone knew that there would not be any personal bests, seasonal bests, fast times or records. It was all about taking it slow and finishing the race. The leading group took 18 minutes to run the first five kilometers and even at that point half the runners looked exhausted.
“The hardest part about being an athlete is facing disappointment. I trained for months to be in Doha, fit and strong. I ran three personal bests in three distances and won two national championships. Today was supposed to be my day, but the world had other plans for me”, said Hiruni.
“Within the first five kilometers into the race I was already cramping while sweating uncontrollably. As the race went on I kept pushing. Trying to pass someone, use the energy of the cheering crowd, trying to move my legs. But there was no such luck”, she added.
Doha had pumped money on everything needed to stage an impressive extravaganza in front of the world. They pushed the championship back to late September, when it is relatively cooler in Doha, a time when global athletics are normally already over. They scheduled the World Championship marathon and race walking events for midnight to avoid the venue’s sweltering daytime temperatures. They air conditioned an outdoor stadium and boasted of state of the art air conditioning facilities at the Khalifa Stadium. But ultimately none of these measures mattered, and it was clear that conditions were far from conducive for the conduct of a marathon, despite several top officials trying to justify their decision. Indeed, the midnight marathon turned out to be a nightmare.
21 runners out of the 40 who finished the race took more than 2 hours and 50 minutes to complete the course despite having run the marathon with times of less than 2 hours and 30 minutes in their careers. Hiruni ran it in 2 hours 34 minutes 10 seconds at the Dusseldorf Marathon earlier this year to qualify for the World Championship, setting a new national record and South Asian record in doing so. She is Sri Lanka’s best bet to qualify for next year’s Olympic Games and the favorite to win the marathon and 10,000 meter race at the South Asian Games in two months. Even though it was vital for her to save herself for upcoming events, she gave it her all in battling the hellish conditions and covered a little over 21 km – until she literally couldn’t move anymore.
“All I can do is to look forward to the next opportunity to make Sri Lanka proud”, said an exhausted but determined Hiruni. “It’s coming soon at the SAG. Massive thanks to the hundreds of Sri Lankan supporters who lined the streets tonight to cheer me on. It was you who kept me going.”
