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Darren McCollester / Getty Images
Runners take water from volunteers during the start of the 116th running of the Boston Marathon on Monday in Hopkinton, Mass.
Temperatures were 20 to 30 degrees above normal on Monday across the Northeast -- including in the Boston area where thousands ran in the Boston Marathon even though organizers encouraged less-prepared runners to sit out the race until next year.
By the afternoon, Boston hit 87 degrees F -- a record for April 16 and about 30 degrees above normal.
Up to 4,800 of the 27,000 Boston Marathon entrants were thought to have opted out after the Boston Athletic Association warned: "We have determined that the race will occur in a 'red zone' which is considered an increased risk but acceptable for high-level elite runners. However, it is not considered safe for unfit and novice runners."
The 26.2-mile course was lined with extra water, ice, Red Cross stations, ambulances and medical buses. Fire departments even had spray hoses in places for runners to cool down.
Instead of the some 27,000 runners who registered, only 22,426 actually started the race, the Associated Press reported.
By the time the winners of the top men's and women's divisions crossed the finish line just after 12 p.m. ET it was about 74 degrees. Wesley Korir of Kenya won the men's while Sharon Cherop, also of Kenya, won the women's -- both with heat-slowed times.
"I knew it was going to be hot," Korir told reporters afterwards. "I was more concerned about my hydration than even my position, where I was going to be."
It was the hottest Boston race since 1976, when temperatures hit 96 degrees.
The Boston Athletic Association's co-medical director had earlier said runners needed to be vigilant about headaches, dizziness, confusion, fatigue, nausea or vomiting.
PhotoBlog of the marathon
Kenyan runners win
"If you are not highly fit or if you have any underlying medical conditions (for example-cardiac disease, pulmonary disease or any of a number of medical problems), you should NOT run this race," Pierre d'Hemecourt warned in an advisory.
Weather.com reported that the heat is coming in with winds from the south.
weather.com
Temperatures at 4:15 p.m. ET
A few cities were expected to break their all-time records for April 16 -- among them Concord, N.H., Burlington, Vt., Worcester, Mass., Hartford, Conn., and Albany, N.Y.
New York City was forecast to reach 87 at Central Park, 26 degrees above normal, but still four degrees shy of tying the record there, NBCNewYork.com reported.
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Not a word was said about the strong cold front that moved through last week.
that's because the frontal system that hit the Mid West this weekend hasn't made it there yet. I live in the panhandle of Idaho: today's high 50, low mid 30s and clouds. I'd love to see a couple mid 80 degree days.
I'm over in Sun Valley Idaho. Love the weather lately.
One more reason for somebody from one of the African nations to win!!! I swear they can run on water (literally) probably how they go to Boston in the first place.
Well what ya know!!
I love it when these morons talk about 'normal' temps. What they mean are averages. X number of degrees above the AVERAGE. A normal temp is typically a 20 degree range. So if the average is 65 then it's NORMAL for the temp to be 55.
Having said that, 86 is NOT normal. But that's how you get the average. Some record lows. Some record highs.
Hopefully it won't ever snow again. Doubtful but one can hope.
Congratulations to the winners, but, if the U.S. wants to ever win another marathon, they'll have to limit participation to city residents (like some U.S. cities have already done). That's the only way the U.S. will stand a chance against these African runners!
I was watching a special on t.v. about Kenya, and Kenyan kids run back and forth to school rather than taking a bus like we do here! They literally grow up from childhood, running everywhere they go -- everywhere!
Kenyans win.
.....uhhh, I could have told you that before the race even started.
Actually, I don't mean to spoil it for you, but Kenyans win next years also.
Need I say more! They will always win; they have water passed to them every 30 seconds in Boston. Back home they run 30 miles for a pale of water and they do that in 20 minutes flat!!!
Congratulations to the winner!!!
In a few years there won't be any American entries. Kids are growing up with a mouth full of skittles, a DS in one hand and a cell phone in the other, their eyes focused on a computer and a chair glued to their butts.
@fnkheehaw, Kenyans don't drink water while they're running. They may take a cup and splash it in their face, but they typically don't drink until it's over.
Record breaking warm weather all winter long in the mid-west. Temps were often 30-40 degrees warmer than normal. Although the weather made for a mild winter, I hope we do not see any days of 30 degrees warmer than normal temps this summer.
Who said anything about drinking it? feel free to go back and read my post again.
Peace!
Some runners will say..oh 86 degree's in no problem to them. That we shall see after its over and how many died of heat stroke or heart attacks.
I hope it doesn't drop below 80 until October. Screw seasonal weather; I'd be happy if it was like this year-round.
Go to central or southern Florida, or Hawaii to get away from seasonal weather.
I'm sorry did you say Florida? Oh hell no!
It's not bad at 86...IF. If the dew point isn't too high.
Congratulations to all the runners - it takes guts and persistence to run and finish the Boston Marathon even on a cool day!!!
Eye of the tiger!!!
"Wesley Korir of Kenya won the men's"
Wonder if this guy knows Obama.
Mike Fillmore: Do you know Bush?
Monkey, Why did you ask Mike that? You know as well as I do that Mike doesn't know anything.
I was in Chicago a month ago, and it was precisely the same temperature for the whole week, 86 degrees. Locals said it can often snow at that time of year and they had never known anything like it. A little bird told me the poles are slowly flipping and the jet stream is subsequently acting up, which is why NASA quietly launched 5 rockets towards it a few weeks ago...
...somesing's up guys, somesing's up!
Pole shifts? Funny, my compass still points to exactly the same place it has for the last thirty years...
He meant the Poles want to move their country to Africa. A Pole shift.
Were, you are none too bright. Magnetic vs ice poles. Know what I'm sayin'?
Mike Fillmore: Nope. Haven't a clue.
In 1976, it was at least 5 degrees warmer on Boston Marathon day, but I still believe in global warming
Climate change. Climate change. It's been going on for billions of years. I 'believe in it' too.
Jack-2015672: Previous changes occurred over thousands or tens of thousands of years, not over a hundred or two hundred years, except during extreme extinction events.
One other point: If Climate change forecasts were not accepted as correct, then you wouldn't see insurance companies charging more, militaries worldwide repositioning forces to the Arctic, oil firms worldwide pushing for rights to Arctic oil, and huge campaigns to debunk global warming science as a way to stall legislation. Climate change is here and everyone but naysayers are dealing with it.
@Monkey -- it's more like millions, dude. But, you are spot on with everything else!
Thanks for making my point, Kat.
And yet most Republicans still deny Global Warming! I say we may argue about what is causing it. I say we may argue about what it is going to do. But I say that if you deny it is happening, you are delusional. For me, the real kicker was the North West Passage becoming a reality in the last few years.
Oh yeah because a heat wave certainly proves global warming. Wow.
I thought about running a marathon one, then I thought why?
The fastest critter in Kenya is a chicken!! That's why those chicken chasers always win!
Funny what people in the northeast think of as hot. I remember in 1993 riding in the "Hotter than Hell" bike ride 100 miles and it was, I believe 103 that day. 86 degrees would of felt like a cold front.
No one likes a one-upper. Especially one who compares August heat in Texas to the northeast.
I think he is saying you Yanks are wimps about the heat, and he is right.
Every single person who ever ran either died or will die. Running is bad for you, people.
As did everyone who sat on the couch eating Fritos and watching TV. It's all about timing and quality.
I ran Boston in 1999 with 11,000 runners and the temperature was 83 degrees. It was a hot run for April especially being from Colorado, but I ran my best time and loved it!
Temps should be hitting 110 by this August in much of America's mid-section.
How about 130 in Phoenix? How about 135?
If so AC's are going to be blasting away and any money saved on heating this winter will go up in smoke trying to stay cool this summer!
Blackouts will happen you can bet on it!
Time to add those solar panels to your rooftops.
They also help keep the house cool by shading the roof top from the sun.
Ever think of that!
it was all george bush at fault again ?? to hot outside ???
NOT hot enough for the world's "elite" runners...where are the NFL side line heaters to make the Boston Marathon even more miserable! Moaww Ha Ha Ha!
But when will mr grover, the gop, & the rushbo admit that temperatures are rising & the cause is co2 made by fossil fuel usage as proclaimed by 97% of the world's climate scientists. But remember, the gop is not called the grand oil party for no reason. They breathe, drink, & dream oil. You will never be able to separate the two. So the people who care about the future of the world that they will leave for their children, about what the creator will tell them at the pearly gates, about their enjoyment of the world as it will become well within their own lifetimes ... those people must leave the gop, mr grover, & the rushbo and join al gore & the democrats.
Marshall, Do you mean the Al Gore that uses more energy in one of his mansions than 25 normal households. That Al Gore? Lets not forget his jet plane, numb nuts.