Marathon to go on as scheduled despite Doha’s stifling heat

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The midnight marathon is going on as scheduled at the steamy track and field world championships in Qatar.

Meet organizers notified the teams midday Friday that no changes in the schedule for the women’s race were being made, and that they would reassess the situation after nightfall.

There had been speculation that the event might be postponed because of sweltering conditions. At 2:30 p.m. local time, it was 99 degrees (37 Celsius) in Doha with a “feels like” temperature of 122 (50 C). The forecast for the midnight race through downtown Doha is 89 (31.6 C).

There are 69 women on the start list, planning to race against each other and tackle conditions they rarely face. Meet organizers will have extra medical staff on the course looking for signs of heat exhaustion.

Inside the open-roofed stadium, where air conditioning is keeping the track about 20 degrees cooler than in the city where the marathon will be run, the meet will start Friday evening with qualifying for the men’s 100 meters. Defending champion Justin Gatlin, American Christian Coleman and Canadian Andre De Grasse are among the medal contenders.