The Leiden Marathon has been suspended as 25 runners suffer from heat exhaustion

The annual Leiden Marathon was canceled at the weekend after 25 runners were hospitalized due to heat exhaustion.

The city’s mayor, Peter van de Velden, decided to call off the race at 3 p.m., fearing that local hospitals were struggling to cope with the number of injured.

Most of the 1,750 runners had finished the race, which began at 10 a.m., but those not yet on the course were asked to walk to the finish. The final participants received much applause as they crossed the finish line around 4 p.m.

Another 6,500 people started the half marathon at 11 a.m. The 10km race, which was due to start at 2.30pm, was cancelled.

About 15 runners were taken to the LUMC hospital in Leiden, while another 10 were treated at the Alrijne Ziekenhuis in tragedorp. All were released later that day.

Rising temperatures

A spokesman for Hollands Midden’s safety committee said authorities had decided to suspend the race because hospitals would risk being overwhelmed with temperatures above 25C.

“Too many people got sick,” Van der Velden told Omroep West. “The pressure on ambulances, hospitals and other emergency services was too great so we had no other choice. People’s health and safety come first.”

Organizer Tjeerd Scheffer said runners were surprised by the sharp rise in temperatures in recent days as they had been training in relatively cool conditions for the time of year.

“It’s busy and warm, so it’s not unusual that people have had issues with the heat,” he said.

However, the two hospitals said the number of injured was “manageable” and they were operating well within their capacity.