85 people to run 30-hour Westwood race in negative temperatures Saturday
WESTWOOD - The TARCtic Frozen Yeti is meant to be exactly what it sounds like: frozen. It's an "Ultra Marathon," a 30-hour race where the person who runs the most miles wins. The record is 105 miles.
The race is in its fourth year, running throughout the woods of the Hale Reservation in Westwood. Runners take breaks indoors every two hours or so to get warm.
"We expect a lot of people will be taking longer breaks indoors tomorrow," Race Director Josh Katzman told WBZ.
The race was postponed in 2022 due to frozen conditions that followed the massive late January blizzard.
But when organizers saw the negative temperatures coming our way this weekend, they decided to keep the race on. "With the required gear list, we felt confident that people can be safe and have a chance to learn," Katzman explained. He said quite a few people have dropped out.
For those not looking to run for 30 hours, a 15-mile overnight race starts Saturday at 8 PM, when conditions are supposed to have improved from the historic cold.
The event itself is meant for extreme athletes to begin with; its original design was to train for even colder races.
But given the historic temperatures we're seeing, doctors warn that prolonged time outside, even with the right gear, is dangerous.
"A patient who's doing a marathon for example, they're going to sweat," explained Dr. Amir Darvish, Emergency Doctor at Tufts Medical Center. "Exposure to wet clothes and gloves can make frostbite more likely."
