By the Numbers: How Hot is Too Hot?
With Austin’s multi-month streak of 100+ degree days, and with marathon training in full swing, you may wonder how hot is too hot to run? Or walk. Or cook an egg. We decided to let the numbers tell the story.
1
Number of Texans who finished the Death Valley Badwater Ultramarathon
135-mile run in 2010
118
High temperature at the July 2011 Badwater Ultramarathon
10,000
Number of runners who did not show at the start of the 2007 Chicago Marathon, the year it was cancelled midway due to excessive heat
88
Temperature of the 2007 Chicago marathon that was cancelled due to heat
21
Pounds of ice per person used during the May 2011 Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas for the 2,160 triathletes participating
308,000
Number of visitors to Barton Springs in June and July of 2011
350,000
Total number of visitors to Barton Springs June, July, and August of 2009
1440
Gallons of water put into coolers by RunTex at the Lady Bird Lake Trail under the S. First Street and Mopac bridges
16,000
Cups of water consumed from the coolers on a summer day
106
Core body temperature worrisome for heat stroke
145
Possible high temperature of hot pavement on a 108 degree day
155
Degrees of heat needed to cook an egg
123
Internal temperature of a closed car after 60 minutes on an 80-degree day
11
Number of workout days needed to acclimate to heat
3
Body-weight pounds the average runner loses in conditions of 85 degrees and 40 percent humidity
1700
Hottest time of the day in Austin (military time)
Sources: badwater.com/info; abclocal.com digital weather; thewoodlandscvb.com; Austin American-Statesman; keepaustinbeautiful.org; RunTex; homeenergyweb.com; Austin American-Statesman; National Weather Service; timeanddate.com; Journal of Physiology (1993). 460. pp. 467-485 467; from tests conducted by the Gatorade Sports Science Institute reported in Runner’s World, August 2004.
