Atlanta's extreme heat has broken, but the 60,000 runners in the AJC Peachtree Road Race will still face potentially dangerous conditions during the 6.2-mile race Wednesday morning.
Channel 2 Action News chief meteorologist Glenn Burns said temperatures will be in the low to mid 70s with humidity in the 75 percent range at 7 a.m. By 10 a.m., he expects temperatures to heat up to the low 80s with humidity dropping to the 55 percent range.
"If you are in the direct sun, it will feel 15 to 20 degrees warmer," Burns said.
Those conditions are a cause for concern, said Dr. Joe Wilson, the race's medical director.
"It's fortunately not going to be as difficult as if we'd run on Saturday, but it will still be a little warmer than the average July 4th," Wilson told the AJC Tuesday. He said that under such conditions runners should use extreme caution and temper their finish time expectations.
"It's not the time to do a personal record," he said. "If you don't feel you have trained properly, maybe this is not the year you want to run."
For those who do run, Wilson said, "hydration before the race and during the race is very important." He noted that water stations are positioned every mile and urged runners to take advantage of them.
Wilson also said runners should wear loose clothing to promote sweating and avoid alcohol the night before the race. "Alcohol tends to dehydrate you," he said.
Acclimating to the heat takes two to three weeks, and many runners who are coming from other parts of the country or have been training in the early morning or evening hours could struggle in Wednesday's conditions, Wilson said.
Symptoms of heat-related illness include a "sense that your mind is not working perfectly well ... dizziness, leg cramps and muscles that aren't working that well," he said.
Anyone who experiences such symptoms should stop and seek medical attention immediately. Medical attention is available at every water stop.
The on-course water sprays can be helpful for some, but "it's not for everybody," Wilson said.
A new flag system to alert runners to conditions is in place this year. Wilson expects a yellow flag — signaling a moderate alert level, or less-than-ideal conditions — to be flying at the start of the race, but he said conditions could worsen as the morning progresses.
The best precaution is common sense and realistic expectations. Wilson urged runners to slow down and not be driven to finish in a certain time or rush to meet friends after the race.
"It's kind of like wearing seat belts," he said. "If everybody is cautious, then everybody can have a great day."
As for the post-race celebrations, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Karen Minton is predicting partly cloudy skies with highs in the mid 90s and a 30 percent chance of showers.
"Showers and thunderstorms should start popping up late morning in far North Georgia, then develop around metro Atlanta around noon," she said.
She said the storms should be over by 8 p.m.
"Looks like the rain is out of here in time for the fireworks displays," she said.
