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Marathon Officials Happy It's Over, Too

With temperatures reaching the high 80s, Boston Marathon officials called yesterday's unseasonably warm race one of the most stressful in years.

Throughout the day, some 2,500 runners sought medical treatment along the route, and 152 were transported to local hospitals. As many as 10 of those runners remain hospitalized today in critical but non life-threatening condition, according to Marc Davis, the Boston Athletic Association spokesman.

"We are satisfied with those numbers,” Davis told the Herald, noting how many more runners were hospitalized during the similarly hot 2004 race. “That’s a huge testament to our medical crew that got to these people right away.”

To our Newscast unit, Davis added that most runners are feeling both pleased and pained this day after.

"I'm sure they're feeling a lot of relief," he said. "At least the ones that didn't need to be treated, they're feeling ecstatic about their performances. But I'm sure a lot of them are also feeling perhaps a little more worn out than if the weather was a little more cooperative."

Boston area businesses, on the other hand, didn't suffer from the heat.

The Greater Boston Convention Center and Visitors Bureau estimates that visitor spending over the weekend was the second-highest total ever, at more than $137 million.

The marathon typically produces between $120 million and $125 million for Greater Boston businesses, tourism officials told our Newscast unit.

This program aired on April 17, 2012. The audio for this program is not available.

Headshot of Benjamin Swasey

Benjamin Swasey Digital Manager
Ben is WBUR's digital news manager.

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