Spatial variations in wet-bulb globe temperature during the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
4 affiliations
- 1Department of Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, USA. [email protected].
- 2Department of Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, USA.
- 3Departments of Emergency Medicine and Orthopaedic Surgery, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA.
- 4Chief Medical and Safety Officer, Bank of America Chicago Marathon, Chicago, USA.
Abstract
Prior work has recommended the use of Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) to inform operational management of marathons. However, there is limited and potentially conflicting results on the spatial extent at which WBGT should be measured to sufficiently capture racecourse variability. The purpose of this study is to assess how WBGT varies spatially and temporally across the Bank of America Chicago Marathon course, and if practically and statistically significant differences exist. WBGT was measured at 60-second intervals and averaged every five minutes at five different locations across the Chicago Marathon course in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Substantial temporal and spatial variability in WBGT and meteorological conditions was observed within and between marathon years. Statistically significant differences in WBGT, and other heat stress metrics, existed between the five weather stations in each of the three marathon years (W-ANOVA, p < 0.01), with maximum mean absolute differences during 07:30 - 11:00 of 2.6 °C, but with maximum differences of 9.3 °C at individual timesteps using a rolling intervals framework. Results were consistent between fixed periods of time and when considering only the periods in which runners were present at any given portion of the course. Collectively, the observed differences in WBGT and related meteorological conditions along the Chicago Marathon route were statistically and practically significant for operational management. The use of a multiple-station observational approach is warranted for most appropriately capturing racecourse variability and thus informing decisions related to participant health and safety.
Related
- Spatial accessibility to primary care and major health conditions in Chicago: a cross-sectional study
- Spatial variations in urban park accessibility and equity under multimodal travel: a case study of Beijing
- Implementing "Community-based approach for lowering stress through mindfulness in Chicago" (CALM-Chicago) for depression and hypertension: Study protocol of a proof-of-concept trial.
- Cytokine kinetics in nasal mucosa and sera: new insights in understanding upper-airway disease of marathon runners
- Nationality patterns of the fastest marathon runners across age groups in the Berlin marathon
BibTeX
@article{suriano2026spatial,
title = {{Spatial variations in wet-bulb globe temperature during the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.}},
author = {Zachary J Suriano and Joshua Durkee and Michael Quire and George Chiampas},
journal = {International journal of biometeorology},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1007/s00484-026-03361-8},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42970146},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Spatial variations in wet-bulb globe temperature during the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
AU - Zachary J Suriano
AU - Joshua Durkee
AU - Michael Quire
AU - George Chiampas
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/02
JO - International journal of biometeorology
DO - 10.1007/s00484-026-03361-8
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42970146
AB - Prior work has recommended the use of Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) to inform operational management of marathons. However, there is limited and potentially conflicting results on the spatial extent at which WBGT should be measured to sufficiently capture racecourse variability. The purpose of this study is to assess how WBGT varies spatially and temporally across the Bank of America Chicago Marathon course, and if practically and statistically significant differences exist. WBGT was measured at 60-second intervals and averaged every five minutes at five different locations across the Chicago Marathon course in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Substantial temporal and spatial variability in WBGT and meteorological conditions was observed within and between marathon years. Statistically significant differences in WBGT, and other heat stress metrics, existed between the five weather stations in each of the three marathon years (W-ANOVA, p < 0.01), with maximum mean absolute differences during 07:30 - 11:00 of 2.6 °C, but with maximum differences of 9.3 °C at individual timesteps using a rolling intervals framework. Results were consistent between fixed periods of time and when considering only the periods in which runners were present at any given portion of the course. Collectively, the observed differences in WBGT and related meteorological conditions along the Chicago Marathon route were statistically and practically significant for operational management. The use of a multiple-station observational approach is warranted for most appropriately capturing racecourse variability and thus informing decisions related to participant health and safety.
SN - 0020-7128
SN - 1432-1254
ER -