http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-26910318

To my mind it raises the question of where police should draw the line in protecting the public. Should they put up road blocks to prevent runners from progressing en masse in case they suffer from dehydration? I say not. When the gun goes off each runner is responsible for his or her own destiny. And the emergency services should be there only as a safety net (for those who collapse or are near to collapsing). The road block was thankfully ineffective, but it really was an act of repression added to a failure of bureaucratic competence.

Until relatively recently there were no water or energy drinks on marathons.

I agree that people may feel thirsty during a run, but "dehydration" is quite a strong word even for the strongest of thirsts. Real dehydration in sport events is rare even in hot climates... but there has been a lot of media hype in this regard based in part on studies that have already been proven both wrong because of the methodology and settings (treadmill vs. street) and exaggerated.

The only real signs of (benign) dehydation in a half marathon, even for the slowest runners, would be slower times... and yes a longing for a chilled pint of ale (check).

The presence of watering posts even in 10 and 5K events is mandatory (at least here in NL) just as a precaution, but I bet it causes more injuries  by slipping on plastic glasses or running into people who have stopped than it prevents.

"We have scoured supermarkets around the city, but unfortunately we have not been able to secure enough water for the medical-and-safety officers of the race to say it is safe to go ahead. We therefore took the very reluctant decision to cancel the race."

Don't they have tap water in the UK?

Hats off- they carried on and ran it anyway

Shoot. Just when I was starting to trust water stations and leave my hydration belt behind .... 

FB friend of mine was there.

 

"... Then, at mile twelve, I ended up phoning 999 and waiting for an ambulance for a runner who weaved towards me and collapsed on me, before slipping out of consciousness on the kerb. Marshals taking a long time to arrive, and then saying or doing nothing at all."

More, or less, than 3 hours in to the race? It was 55 degrees, a veritable heatwave by Sheffield standards.

Through challenging terrain no less.

As I read that I kept getting the impression I was reading The Onion. Is the BBC the UK's version of The Onion??