Deadly Heat at Chicago Marathon, 300 Injured

UPDATE: I have clarified the number of people injured in the headline and entry.* The record was officially broken for Sunday's high temperature at Chicago but due to confusing NWS reports, it's unclear where. NCDC officially only listed Midway @ 88, but NWS listed both O'Hare @ 87 and O'Hare @ 88 and no Midway. This story has been picked up as a news item here.

ORIGINAL POST: The unusual late-season heatwave in the Eastern U.S. has proved deadly today, with one runner perishing at the Chicago Marathon, and nearly 300 others were treated for heat-related issues.* Runners who hadn't yet reached the halfway-point at noon were told to stop running when the marathon officially closed early.

CHICAGO TEMPS (BLUE) AND REALFEEL TEMPS (GREEN) TODAY

CBS4Denver.com provided the stats above and says"The temperature around 2:30 p.m. was 85 degrees with a heat index of 88, only one degree short of tying a record. The hottest Chicago Marathon before this one was back in 1979, when the temperature hit 84 degrees." According to AccuWeather.com, the record high for the date was 86 in 1947 and the temperature was 88 at 4 PM; the maximum RealFeel temperature was 93 at 1 pm. This was at the Chicago Midway airport; at DuPage and Wheeling, the temperature maxed out at 87 with a RealFeel of 92. The normal high for this date is 66 degrees. Some unofficial stations (including amateur weather instruments) indicated temperatures as high as 94 at 4 PM.

A fire truck sprays water on marathon participants during the 2007 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon on Sunday, Oct. 7, 2007, in Chicago. Organizers shut down the course and diverted runners back to the finish area four hours after the start because of sweltering heat and humidity. (AP Photo/Jerry Lai)

*I had originally said "250 people were hospitalized." This was based on on-air media reports but was later clarified by the AP who said"At least 49 people were taken to hospitals, while another 250 were treated onsite, many for heat-related ailments."