Two in hospital after Manitoba Marathon cancelled due to soaring heat

The Manitoba Marathon has been cancelled and runners are being asked to turn around due to the sweltering heat.

The Manitoba Marathon has been cancelled and runners are being asked to turn around due to the sweltering heat.

Marathon organizers onsite confirmed the marathon had been cancelled as of 8 a.m. this morning. Runners were being asked to turn around and head back to IG Field. It was a decision made by Manitoba Marathon medical team and marathon executive director Rachel Munday.

"We started the race, everything was great, but it very quickly accelerated and got warm very fast," Munday told CTV News Sunday morning. She said shortly after 8 a.m., temperatures rose above 30 C.

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service assessed four marathon participants Sunday, including two people who were transported to the hospital.

One of the patients was sent in unstable condition and the other in stable condition.

"At that point, we knew protocol dictated that even if the fittest runner shouldn't be running a full marathon distance at 31.7 C," she said.

"So we decided that it was time to close the course and bring runners back to the stadium where we can at least celebrate that we are together. But for the best interest and safety of the runners, it was best to close the course and bring them back."