Natural Disaster Emergency Plan for the Marathon

Yesterday’s earthquake in Mineral, VA, felt along much of the East Coast - including Washington, DC - put people through a range of emotions. One of my first thoughts was, at least this didn’t happen while I was running the marathon!

With that thought, I considered how I would deal with a variety of natural disasters if any of them were to crop up on race day. Here is what I decided I should do:

• Tornado: Hop into a protective orb. Allow the tornado to run through the path of my orb. Spin around the tornado and allow it to carry me to the finish line.
• Hurricane: Swim. Ride the currents to the finish line.
• Flood: Swim. If the currents are not strong enough, paddle a canoe or kayak.
• Earthquake: Run on the parts of the shaking earth that propel me forward instead of setting me back. Bounce closer to the finish line.
• Tsunami: Surf to the finish line.
• Avalanche: Strap on skis and slide downhill to the finish line.
• Blizzard: Wear snow shoes or tire tracks to traverse the snow. If necessary, cross-country ski.
• Volcano: Wear a gas mask. Run uphill away from the volcano to the finish line.
• Drought: Drink extra water/Powerade at the water stations.
• Heat Wave: Freeze clothes or put them on the air conditioner before running. Refrigerate or freeze water/Powerade. Stuff ice cubes in various places.
• Fire: Wear a protective fire suit. Drink extra water at aid stations to accommodate for extra clothing.

Granted, many of these scenarios will not happen on race day - especially an avalanche or volcano. I’d like to think I will be prepared just in case. Even when everything is going perfect during training, there is always the unknown of what will happen the day of the big race. Yesterday’s earthquake reminded me of the power of nature and how I should expect the unexpected, especially on race day, to propel me to success (or at least to lower stress).