Baltimore marathon race
The 10th annual Baltimore Marathon began this morning following the 2009 route. Skies were clear and temperatures cool as nearly 5,000 runners began to cross the starting line at Russell and Camden Streets at 8:01 a.m. for the longest run.
More than 22,000 runners will compete in this year’s Baltimore Running Festival, which includes six different races of varying distances and difficulties, topped off by the 26.2-mile marathon.
The route meanders through the city and includes some beautiful scenic sections along the way such as the Inner Harbor waterfront, Fells Point and Federal Hill along with a loop around Lake Montebello.
Even though, statistically, the odds are good that every runner will make it home safely, Lee Corrigan of Corrigan Sports, the event’s organizer, says it will be hard for him to relax until every runner is alive and accounted for at the end of the day.
Unfortunately, deaths do occur on occasion, but statistically it is no more risky than other athletic events. A study of the London Marathon, found a death rate of one in every 67,414 runners over a 20 year period. That amounts to one death for every 2 million miles run. Heart related illnesses, often undiagnosed, were the most common cause of death.
