Yet, after the third stop with no water he began to realize something was terribly wrong.
“People were literally going off the course and going to a water fountain, a giant water fountain in the park, and drinking the water,” said Gauder.
With temperatures reaching 88 degrees and a shortage of water, the race became more of a fight for survival.
Despite the brutal conditions, Gauder says a lot of people were running for a cause and were determined to reach the finish line, or pass out trying.
With so many dropping because of the heat, the 16 medical tents along the route were not enough. Gauder said he saw people lying outside of the tents waiting for medical attention.
“Too many people were falling, suffering from heat-related injuries,” said Gauder. “Medical stations were overwhelmed.”
Gauder has run 16 marathons in the past two years. He has run a marathon in the heat before and said more preparation and water could have prevented many of the heat-related injuries.
“I think the Chicago Marathon did not do a very good job preparing for the heat, for this race,” Gauder said. “I think a lot of that could have been avoided had they better prepared for it.”
However, even with more water and medical tents, Gauder said the heat presented an unsafe situation for runners.