NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A local runner says the St. Jude Rock N' Roll Marathon may have made some serious errors in this year's race, regarding water stations.
Victoria Landi, who has raced in the marathon ten times and at dozens of marathons across the country, says she noticed while running Saturday, that the course didn't have enough tables and available cups at the designated water stations.
"I’ve done this race about 10 times, and I’ve never seen the issues at this race as I did with the water," she said. "I’m a runner who’s cautious of my time, and I kind of looked and I was waiting at some stations for 30 seconds to get a cup of water."
The problem with that is — a lot of competitive runners may decide to just skip hydration altogether to keep their pace, which can be horrible for a runner's health.
"If they’re really trying to go for a personal record, they’re not going to stop, they’re going to keep running," Landi said.
She also had problems with the electrolytes the race provided. She says race organizers provided different brands than what they posted online, even though many marathoners train with the brands that are being provided in order to be prepared.
"A lot of runners will say, you’re never supposed to try something new on race day. If a runner’s coming through and they see a different type of electrolyte, they’re also probably not going to try it out," she said.
It's unclear if any of these problems had anything to do with the death of a local runner, Joey Fecci, who collapsed in the final miles of the race and later died at the hospital. Either way, Victoria thinks race organizers should make adjustments for next year. "You can’t mess up the water. Water is so important," she said.
Tuesday, a spokesperson for the marathon responded to questions posed by NewsChannel 5.
We can confirm that all water stations utilized fire hydrants for their water sources, with the exception of two stations which serviced portions of the marathon course only and were supplied with gallon jugs of water distributed in cups.
None of the 19 stations spread throughout the course ran out of water, and at no point was there a time that water was not available to runners on the course.
We understand that at select water stations during busy portions of the race, some athletes were required to wait for the cups to be filled up and provided to them. We will continue to assess and adjust our needs at water stations to ensure that they meet the demand of runners.
It's truly the small things that add up to a great day - and Warrick in Lebanon is having a big impact. His familiar face is becoming a staple in one part of the community and inspiring closer connection in the simplest way. Enjoy his warm personality! You may even feel inclined to wave to a stranger today, too.
-Rebecca Schleicher
