[Sans Souci]

<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/athletics/7197871.stm" target="_blank">Gebrselassie could miss marathon</a>.<br><br><img alt="confused.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/confused.gif"><img alt="confused.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/confused.gif"><img alt="confused.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/confused.gif"><br><br>
Sadly, no, you can't control pollution in Beijing. However, you can suggest running elsewhere. I wouldn't want to run a marathon in that goop.

 

[dromedary]

SS, I would never want to run there either! I was there in the early 1990s and the air stung my eyes the minute the plane opened the doors (at midnight!). During the day, the sky looked yellow brown. I caught a very bad case of bronchitis within in a few days.

 

[Econo]

I spent 3 months there in 1984 -- when bicycles still clogged the streets -- and the air was terrible! I had a terrible cough by the end of the semester.<br><br>
I think they are indeed planning very drastic measures to keep traffic out of the city -- that is, banning cars from the city -- during the Games. That should help.

 

[Labduck]

My company buys millions of dollars of raw materials from China, and we've been warned that we most likely will not be able to receive our usual shipments this summer due to plant shut-downs for the Olympics to help improve air quality. We're really not sure what to expect, since our dealings with some of these companies suggest that they would do ANYTHING to make a sale. We have contingency plans, so we'll just wait and see what happens.

 

[canalrunner]

Won't just be an issue in the marathon but you would think they could find somewhere less polluted in China to do the marathon. Nice that the Olympics will give the people of Beijing a pause from the pollution that is their everyday life. If cleaning up the air after the Olympics meant that Chinese goods would cost more, would we want them to make the changes permanent?

 

[perchcreek]

Hope it's better than the Hong Kong Marathon<br><br><a href="http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/35109/story.htm" target="_blank">http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsst...5109/story.htm</a><br><br>
An olympic event is the ultimate in healthy living. Why turn the athletes into "smokers" for a couple hours?<br><br>
I hope the air clears.

 

[Sans Souci]

Uh, and you might just wanna take a pass on the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/01/21/wpiglet121.xml" target="_blank">BBQ pork</a> while there.<br><br>
Ew.