Shokufeh is... home

Learning from setbacks, and each other

This morning, when I first heard the news about yesterday's Chicago marathon being called off several hours into the race, I was impressed by the flexibility of race organizers. To me, one of the greatest signs of a leader is taking into account the people you are serving. I'm still impressed, given the set of conditions they were working with - a starting time of 8:00 am, temps in the high 80s, high humidity levels....

But, as I read about the disappointment of the runners in not being able to finish the race, and the numerous runners who collapsed, I once again think of my idea that there should be a database of best practices, of everything. Not so that everyone across the world will do things the same way, but so that people can learn about some of the other ways of doing things. For example, I was suprised to read the Chicago marathon starts as late as it does. Even though I've lived in Chicago, the most recent place (before here) that I lived, was Honolulu. A hot place with a marathon. And you know what time their marathon starts? 5:00 am. Yes, it's still dark out. Totally dark. But it's also much cooler than if the sun had already risen. And, it means the race starts with fireworks!

Thinking about it makes me miss life there a bit. It also makes me wish the Chicago marathon officials had demonstrated the flexibility earlier in the week, when they became aware of the weather forecast, and started the race sooner in the day.