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" It's pretty clear that most of the people commenting on this article have never taken on anything as challenging as a marathon. Marathon runners are a pretty tough bunch of people and expect the races to be hard. That's why we do it. The complaints about this race are about the organizers failure to deliver on their promises. Even the toughest athlete will require basics, like water, to compete in a grueling event like a marathon. When there is not enough water for the participants, it is clearly the fault of the organizers. They took the participants money and promised to provide the basics. In this case, the organizers failed to keep their promise. "

" All people need is a little common sense in this type of weather and there wouldn't be this problem. "

" dumb dumb dumb duuuuumb! these people who participate in marathons obviously are aware of the dangers of exertion in extreme heat. yet, they ignore common sense. dumb! "

" Ok.. how many of you people would pay 110 dollars to run and are promised waterandGatorade along the way and then there is only water or Gatorade in like 3-4 of the 15 drink stations along the way? Personal responsibility is one thing .. how about responsibility in getting what we pay for? Part of that 110 dollars is for drinks along the way. A lot of people were told when they got to a water station that the next one was "only' a cpl of miles up the street and they could get it there. Only to get there and have the same results. If this is any indication of how well the city prepares.. I hope to hell they DO NOT stage the 2016 Olympics! That being said... the PEOPLE of Chicago are the reason this was not a bigger disaster than what it was. Several people on the route brought their garden hoses out or milk jugs full of water to the people after they heard what was happening. The city need to give these people a THANK YOU for saving their butts. "

" How many of these runners are smokers? They are griping just like the smokers who can't smoke in bars anymore. People have to take responsibility for their own decisions. "

" My son ran in this race this past weekend. He did finish but by walking the last 9 miles as they were instructed to by the police under threat of arrest if they did not walk. My son was prepared for this race.. he trained since last Jan. He even ran in the middle of the day around here to get into shape. It is the fault of the race people who didn't take into account some people might take more than one cup of water to cool down with. Yes.. he had enough sense to stop running when he cramped up and was feeling bad. But he was feeling bad because he wasn't getting any water or Gatorade along the way. Not until the 6th mile did he ever get any water. By then.. he said it was too late for most people as they as some started cramping already. Yes people should know their body well enough to stop before something bad happens but the race people should have had more water for them to drink too. "

" I've done the Hawaiian marathon the last few years and it's hotter than Hades there. What was so different about Chicago? Lack of water stations? The temp shouldn't have mattered that much. "

" I felt it was not what I expected. This was my first race and I finished in 4.4 hours. There was plenty of water and Gatroade at the stations when I came thru. I thought the workers were abusing the drinks as runners where coming by they were pouring gallons of water on the runners. they should of just let the runners cool down themselves with the cups of water that were on the tables. Then there might have been enough for the runner behind me. "

" The Chicago Marathon is a class event and has been for years. Blaming the event seems unusual for runners that often say "the only way I won't finish this race is in the back of an ambulance!" "

" I agree with "Curious". Everything gets turned into a Blame Game. A former co-worker ran this in 4 hours, 27 minutes and 21 seconds. He's in his 50's and it was his first Marathon. You have to know your body and know what you're doing. A sensible person knows their limitations and knows when to stop. Common Sense tells you to stop when you are sick and miserable. Problem is...most people don't listen to their Common Sense. "

" Come on people why in the world would you put your body through this. Could a marathon runner please explain this to me??? "

" If they had cancelled this race just before it was scheduled to start, can you imagine how mad everyone would have been?!!?!?! I agree with "curious," grown adults have to be responsible for themselves. "

" As a runner you rely on the fact that if you take care of the conditioning aspect the race will provide the standard materials and care proportionate to the number of participants....since this became the worst event in the 30-year history the fault lies on the organizers since they obviously went ahead with the race until things started to fall apart and they could be held liable. "

" I am curious... the city is being blamed on a lot of fronts: not cancelling early enough, not having enough water on hand, not having enough emergency crews to handle to number of people in need of help. When does the person running - a grown adult - become responsible for one self? If it was so hot and so miserable, why continue? I know someone that ran this marathon and he talked about the importance of knowing your body, knowing your limitations, knowing when to stop and when to keep going. When does an individual become responsible for his or her own actions? "

" at your own risk! The 1 death was due to a heart condition, but the opening paragraph gives a different slant. "