The 94th running of Tely 10 was canceled less than 24 hours before it started. The organizing committee cited high heat and humidity as the reason for the delay. (Emma Grunwald/CBC)
The 94th running of the Tely 10 Road Race, which will take place on Sunday morning in St. John’s, has been postponed due to extreme heat forecast.
Race director Randy Ball confirmed the news to CBC on Saturday, less than 24 hours before 3,000 people took off from the starting line in Paradise and ran 10 miles to downtown St. John’s.
The race is now scheduled for August 28.
“It was basically too risky to run the race in that humidity and that heat,” Ball said. “We felt the safest thing to do was to avoid casualties or any danger was to make everyone safe by calling it off.”
Environment Canada has issued high heat advisories for much of Newfoundland, with temperatures expected to reach 28 degrees Sunday and a humidex of up to 38 degrees. These conditions would spell havoc for runners, especially for locals in a city where the average summer temperature is 16 degrees.
The race has traditionally been held on the third Sunday in July, but was moved to October last year due to pandemic delays.
Ball said the decision was made by the race committee after monitoring the forecast for several days and consulting with St. John’s Ambulance, which administers first aid along the course.
Organizers said more information about the cancellation and rescheduling will be available in the coming days.
Disappointed runners, but understanding
It would be a Tely 10 special for Helen Day. The veteran runner was going to run with her two daughters, son-in-law and two grandchildren who made the trip from Alberta.
“They thought it would be good to run on Tely 10 with their nana this year,” Day said. “It’s very disappointing, it is, but I understand why [postponed] because it’s very hot.”
While the make-up date will work for Day, it won’t work for her family back home in Alberta.
Helen Day, third from left, was looking forward to running her 19th Tely 10 alongside her children and grandchildren. They collected their kit on Saturday, although the race was cancelled. (Ryan Cooke/CBC)
Organizers were hoping to avoid a repeat of the 2014 race, when 30 people needed medical attention due to the heat and two runners, Mark Didham and Andrew Whelan, ended up in medically induced comas.
Temperatures that day were in the mid-20s, lower than expected on Sunday.
For seasoned runners like Kelly Lee, the decision makes sense, but it’s hard to swallow.
“I know we’ve been really hot for a couple of years, but I know there’s a lot of people who are really beginners and maybe they don’t make good decisions and they put themselves at risk,” Lee said. “I’m very frustrated and disappointed, but I understand.”
Kelly Lee and Penny Power were hoping to make the run on Sunday and said they will likely miss the makeup appointment. (Ryan Cooke/CBC)
Lee was part of a group from Clarenville that was excited to run together. They joked that they are going to run down George Street on Saturday night.
As for Helen Day, her family will be spending the day hiking and not canceling their Sunday afternoon champagne celebration.
“It can start tonight, because we usually take it easy the night before Tely 10, so it can start today.”
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