“The weather looks great for this weekend,” enthused Andy Avalos on NBC news early this morning. “Lots of sunshine and temperatures in the mid-seventies—so get outside and enjoy it!” Great indeed. Unless you’re a marathoner. I’m not one of the 45,000 participants who will toe the line for the Chicago Marathon on Sunday 12, but as someone who is gearing up to run the NYC Marathon on November 2, I can sympathize with the current forecasts for an unseasonably warm day. I’ve been checking the Sunday 12 weather obsessively for the last two weeks and the forecast has gone from perfect—mid-fifties and overcast—to less-than-ideal—sunny and warm. (At this moment the AccuWeather.com site says: “Warm with the temperature approaching the record of 84 set in 1960 with clouds and sun.”) I am thinking super-postive thoughts: It’ll be a little warm, but not too warm! It’ll be beautiful!*

After last year’s ninety-degree temps, I was positive that Chicago runners had banked some chilly weather karma for 2008. The only sense I can make of this weekend’s warm weather blip is that Mother Nature has granted the race organizers a do-over. “Hey race organizers,” she’s saying, “You felt unfairly slammed by the press after last October’s debacle. You spent all year raising the bar to make the event safe no matter how crazy the conditions. Okay, here’s your chance to shine: Bring it.”

And the marathon organizers say they are up to the challenge–and they’re definitely not thinking Doomsday. "We are nowhere near the conditions we saw last year," says Marianne Caponi, Director of Marketing & Communications for the marathon, over email. "However, we will activate two sponge distribution [sites] at two of our aid stations and [will] certainly implement fluid distribution to support the weather conditions at all 20 aid stations. That includes ice at each of the aid stations which include medical support." I asked if they would consider moving the start time to an earlier hour in the morning, but "[that's] not part of the contingency plan as the mass infrastructure would not be able to be shifted."

Here’s what else Chicago organizers will bring to the table. A flag system based on a variety of factors, including weather conditions: The alert levels range from Low (green) to Moderate (yellow—the current level on ChicagoMarathon.com) to High (red) to Extreme (black). The higher the level, the more care that should be taken by runners to listen to their bodies, and be mindful of whether the conditions are safe for their pace. If the level rises to Extreme, the course will be closed. There will be 54,600 gallons of water available for drinking (2,500 more than in 2007). About 700 medics on the course to assist runners (up from about 500 in 2007).

Here’s what runners need to bring to the table. Consume plenty of water and sodium (so that water is absorbed). Consider adjusting finish time goals since it’s harder to run fast in higher temps. And bring a healthy dose of good attitude on Sunday. It’s going to be warm. It’s going to be sunny. But what do runners always say to each other? “You can’t control the weather!” Yep, it’s true. So just have fun out there on a beautiful day and enjoy the experience. And be safe.

*I’m already knocking on wood—seriously—about the November 2nd NYC forecast. It’s going to be a long three weeks.