Flying Pig Marathon CEO defends weather decision, communication of shelter-in-place order

The decision to begin Sunday's Flying Pig Marathon on time as a bleak forecast was projected was the correct one, the race's organizer said Monday amid criticism of the call and communication of a mid-race order to shelter in place to runners, volunteers and spectators.

Iris Simpson Bush, chief executive officer and president of Pig Works, the race's event planner, said scores of local emergency services, meteorologists, medical staff, and other experts were involved in months-long planning discussions leading up to the race. And on Saturday, when the forecast predicted intense conditions may sweep through the area during the marathon the next day, she and other organizers came up with a number of different scenarios and "Plan B's" should the race not be able to move forward. Hours before the race, they remained minute-to-minute in those discussions before ultimately concluding it was safe to proceed with the marathon's scheduled start time of 6:30 a.m.

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"A difficult decision," she said in an interview with The Enquirer on Monday. "But with all the resources, the decision had to be made by our organization. I had the support of the board, the operation staff, medical team, all of our city services. But one person had to make the call."

The decision to move forward with the race and not postpone a start time however, was criticized by local meteorologists and some race participants and volunteers. Steve Horstmeyer, a veteran meteorologist for FOX19, called the decision "irresponsible," and argued lightning "may not give you time to get to a shelter even if the shelter is very close."

"I have spent 45+ years in the TV business and the decision to start the marathon is the single most irresponsible decision I have ever seen," Horstmeyer wrote on Twitter.

Shelter-in-place order issued but not widely communicated

The organizers moved forward with the race on time knowing that they may run into a scenario where they recommend runners shelter in place should weather conditions worsen. That scenario occurred fairly early on – a shelter-in-place order was announced at 7:15 a.m.

The course has six zones, race spokeswoman Jackie Reau explained. Each zone has a staff member known as a "zone captain," each mile has its own captain and each fluid station has its own captain. Communication of a shelter-in-place recommendation went out to the captains to forward to runners. Police and medical personnel were on bikes sharing the message, radio operators were present and an alert was put on the race's app. Organizers let runners know that they could shelter at the Newport Aquarium garage, the Covington Marriott, the Duke Energy Convention Center and the Hard Rock Casino garage.

On Seventh Street, members of the race's bike support team yelled, "The race is paused. Shelter in place." A few did step off the course but most continued. Some runners reported receiving notification of the shelter-in-place order from the official race app 30 minutes after it was issued or receiving an automated phone call hours later.

Most runners continued on with the marathon anyway and others commented after the race that they didn't know a shelter-in-place order was ever issued.

"I'm not putting the responsibility off of us onto anyone else, but there are so many ways that they can get the information," Simpson Bush said Monday. "If they don't, I'm certainly not putting any blame on them, but it is there to be had. Can we learn from this? Sure, we can learn from this. But next year we're going to be set with a whole different challenge, different variables with the weather and all of the other things that go on in our city over the 36 miles that we cover and the number of participants we have."

Why not delay the start?

The shelter-in-place order was lifted by 8 a.m. After the race, some questioned the decision to start the race on time.

"While stationed at Eden Park, lightning struck around me multiple times," volunteer Frank Metzmeier wrote in a letter to The Enquirer. "How was this a safe environment to run in? Was it truly not possible to push the race back an hour or two?"

Simpson Bush said organizers considered postponing the start but decided against it for several reasons.

"The storm seemed to be fast moving," she said. "To have waited and postponed, a postponement for marathoners, half-marathoners, to expect those people to stand for an hour or more – where would we put them? They've got to stand and wait to run. Very problematic. Given the intensity and speed of the storm, it seemed better to start the race knowing that if they needed shelter (it was there)."

On social media, many runners commented how they were thankful the race continued, expressing that the clothes-soaking marathon, was enjoyable despite the conditions.

"I'm so glad it wasn't canceled," one runner who came from Illinois for the race wrote on Facebook. "What an amazing experience. Definitely one I'll never forget."

Simpson Bush said while she understands there will be criticism, she came to a "very mindful, thoughtful decision made with lots of input from experts who knew," and felt "it was the right one."

"The facts are there," she said. "We made the decision based on what was happening real time, right up to the moment of the start. It worked. Hundreds if not thousands, sheltered in place, waited a little while for the intense part of the storm to pass. They completed their marathon that they signed up for. We had a commitment to give them what they signed up for, give them the opportunity if we feel we can keep them safe. We felt that. We did that."

Enquirer photojournalist Liz Dufour contributed reporting.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 'A difficult decision': Flying Pig organizer defends storm-filled race