The order: Initiate the contingency plan.

As the heat index continued to rise Sunday, race organizers decided around noon to close the course of The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. It was an unprecedented move that left runners dismayed and heartbroken but, as race organizers said, also prevented what could have been even more of a medical emergency.

Michigan man dies of heart condition
Chad Schieber, 35, from Midland, MI, collapsed shortly after his 18th mile of The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. He died from mitral heart valve prolapse, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office said Monday.

The condition is a heart abnormality that affects 2.5 percent of men, according to the Framingham Heart Study. It can be worsened by factors including, but not limited to, dehydration and "unaccustomed physical activity," writes Dr. Kristine A. Scordo, the author of "Taking Control: Living with the mitral valve prolapse syndrome."

"My understanding from witnesses is that the runner was running and he fell down and was unresponsive and didn't have a pulse," said Medical Director George Chiampas, M.D.

"Our sympathy and prayers and thoughts go out to the individual that we lost this afternoon," said Executive Race Director Carey Pinkowski. "Our staff is heartbroken. It's just tough. This [event is supposed to be] a celebration."

Out of water?
Many runners reported that Aid Station 2, located just after the 3-mile mark, flipped over their tables and waved runners on to the next aid station, nearly 3 miles away. Race officials deny that any aid station ran out of water.

Reports conflict regarding the later aid stations, with some runners saying they were out of water, but others reporting that you had to either wait in line or go further down the line of tables. Aid station captains at Aid Stations 1, 4 and 5 said they never completely ran out of water but sometimes could not fill the cups fast enough.

The debacle at Aid Station 2 created a snowball effect that slammed aid stations later in the course. Although runners at a sub four-hour pace had water at every aid station, those farther back in the pack went nearly four miles without water until they reached Aid Station 3 (located before mile 6).

Race organizers said after the race Sunday that they were fully prepared and have not admitted being short on any supplies. When asked Sunday if there was any doubt in his mind that any of the 15 official aid stations were properly equipped, Executive Race Director Carey Pinkowski hesitated for a short second and replied, "No." He added, "We'll go back and take a long hard look at it."

Pat Onines has captained an aid station for the past 17 years. He was at Aid Station 1 this year and said it was difficult to get cups out to runners fast enough, but they never ran out of water.

"We went through much more than we've ever gone through before," Onines said. "We put out thousands of cups but if you have 30,000 people grabbing three of four cups at a time that's going to put a strain on your resources. They usually give us twice as much water as we use."

Stuart Schulman also had difficulty replenishing cups at Aid Station 5, which was near mile 10.5. "Everything was prepared. When runners started coming through as the morning wore on, the water just started going down rapidly and we couldn't keep up," said Schulman.

Schulman also explained how most runners will stop at the first table, so even though there was plenty of water further down the station, the first few tables were slammed.

"The race is over, stop running"
Runners who had not reached the halfway point were sent along a closed route along Jackson Avenue to Grant Park. Those past the halfway point were strongly encouraged by helicopters and police to stop running and, if possible, find an alternate route to the finish line.

"There are a lot of people who are upset with me and my decision to stop the race," Pinkowski said. "It was a tough decision, but given the circumstances, I thought it was prudent for the safety and wellbeing of those individuals who were participating in this event."

Although organizers decided to close the course at 11:30 a.m., according to runners it wasn't until shortly after noon that helicopters and police begin telling runners at miles 16 to 20 that the race had ended.

Jimmy Knowles was four hours into his run and at mile 20 when he was ordered to stop running by police along the course. "They were telling everyone they had to walk because they didn't want any more medical emergencies," he said. "It was almost a mandate."

Knowles, who is 69 years old and has completed 17 marathons, finished the course by walking three miles and jogging three miles. "I felt comfortable, so I decided to go ahead and run in out."

Police told participants varied and conflicting stories to stop the persistent marathoners from running: Some runners were told to stop running because the race ran out of ambulances. Some runners were told that the race had stopped taking times. Some others were threatened with arrest if they did not stop running.

The closure created an atmosphere of chaos and confusion for the thousands of runners still on the course. Runners near mile 17 were sent by police back up Halsted Street to Jackson Avenue and back into Grant Park along with the runners from mile 13. Others found their own shortcuts back to Grant Park. (The CTA offered anyone with a marathon bib a free ride.) Some runners said that police told them that buses would pick them up, but then the runners could not find the buses. Many others walked the rest of the course or defied orders and ran anyway.

Cheryl Toohey of Woodridge hit mile 20 just over four hours and was told to walk. "It was a stern order. Some people didn't listen, but most people did." As for Toohey herself, "There was a feeling of relief in my group that we made the cutoff and could at least walk the full course."

Of the 35,867 runners who crossed the start line this morning, 24,933 completed the race.

"Today we had an unprecedented day," said Shawn Platt, the senior vice president of LaSalle Bank. "We felt coming into today we were prepared for the heat. Even as the day unfolded we added additional measures."

Emergency plans in effect
Pinkowski said race officials were talking throughout the week about how to handle the hot weather. The race developed a contingency plan Friday, he said, that they decided to implement due to the rising heat index.

Additional safety measures were added both early in the week and as the day unfolded. Five cooling buses were planned at the finish line for runners; that increased to 15 Sunday. Aid stations were supplied with ice and extra water, although organizers did not say how much extra each aid station received. As aid stations closed extra water was brought to aid stations later in the course. An ad hoc aid station was set up at Columbus Drive and Jackson Avenue for the runners coming in from the mile 13 reroute.

Suburban ambulances sent 30 ambulances to the city. Additional fire fighters and medical personnel were called in. In all, more than 700 medical volunteers, including 100 M.D.s, donated their time.

"All the city agencies ... worked together to accomplish this mission to get the service to the patients as quick as possible and to the closest emergency rooms," said Fire Department spokesperson Marc Levison.

Forty-nine patients were transported to the hospital Sunday. "The majority of the ailments are typically what we always see," Dr. Chiampas said, adding that the number of runners treated was not significantly higher than previous years. The Sun-Times reported that Sunday night at least five runners were in serious to critical condition.