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Some real map/territory confusion in this report by the LA Marathon to give people medals if they drop out after 18 miles (because it's hot). The finisher's medal commemorates that you finished, but it doesn't make you a finisher. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/u...

The finished or not question can be a bit confusing in some events like mountain races where the course is always a bit fluid and organizers might need to change or shorten the race for reasons outside their control.

For example, I ran the 2026 Ultra Tour Monte Rosa, where they cut off the last 15 or so miles because of a rock fall. educatedguesswork.org/posts/utmr/ . And in fact it doesn't count as a finish for some purposes, like Hard Rock qualifying. hardrock100.com/hardrock-qua...

None of this applies to marathons, which are a strictly defined distance. Nothing wrong with racing 18 miles (~30K); I've done it myself. But it's not a marathon and just giving someone a finisher medal doesn't make it one.

I'm not saying I'd want to race in that, but running in those temperatures is well within the limits of human performance; mostly you need to slow down and hydrate a lot better. I've trained in hotter temps lots of times.

For reference, the Badwater 135 takes place in Death Valley in July, so we're talking about running much more than a marathon in temperatures exceeding 100 F. That's exceptionally hot, but 86 F just isn't that hot.