Chicago Marathon Begins Under Intense Heat and Scrutiny

Marathons are always tense, physical affairs that test the endurance of runners all over the world The Chicago Marathon is no different. Today, the 31'st annual Chicago Marathon, sponsored by Bank of America, kicked off in the streets of Chicago. The city of Chicago needs a good Chicago Marathon for several reasons. Anything that can distract Chicago from the failures of the Cubs and White Sox will do, but this year's Chicago Marathon has even greater scrutiny for even more serious reasons.

The Chicago Marathon wasn't finished last year, as the race had to be shut down due to heat problems. The 2007 Chicago Marathon was run during record setting heat, which was suspected of contributing to the death of one marathon runner until an autopsy was performed. 49 more Chicago Marathon runners were taken to the hospital.

Chicago has taken greater care to make sure that this year's Chicago Marathon won't have a repeat performance of those conditions. Officials will use a yellow flag to caution runners about the problematic conditions. By mid-day, when the Chicago Marathon reaches its climax, the temperature may reach up to 80 degrees.

In preparation, the Chicago Marathon has added five extra aid stations on the race path, with a total of 20 stations overall for the race. Over 100,000 gallons of water and Gatorade have been stocked for the event.

The 26.2 mile long race will also be watched closely by the International Olympic Committee. Chicago is a candidate to host the 2016 Olympic Games, and has been trying to show that it is capable of handling such a large event. Officials from the Olympic Committee will be in attendance, as the handling of the Chicago Marathon could be a factor in the committee's final decision on Chicago.

As for the actual Chicago Marathon competition, Olympic gold medalist Constantina Tomescu-Dita is attempting to win her second Chicago Marathon in the female competitions. For the men, Kenyan runner Daniel Njenga tries to win after finishing second and third a total of three times.