Recently, the Sheffield Half Marathon was canceled due to a water shortage (Here's a link to an article on the cancellation http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-26910318). Apparently the company that was supposed to supply the water never showed up, leaving the hosts of the race unsure what to do. They desperately searched the town for water to provide for the 4,100 runners, but were unable to find enough. They ended up announcing the cancellation at the start line, but many of the runners did not hear it and the rest seemed to ignore it. They ran the race anyway even without the water available. Anyone who has ever trained for anything for months on end can imagine the frustration they must have felt and sympathize with their decision to race anyway.
Thinking about this economically we can relate the concepts of supply and demand to this story. Because of the race, there was a huge increase in demand for water, and the companies that were supposed to provide water for the route not showing up meant the supply did not change. Because this happened so quickly the price was not able to adjust, other suppliers were not able to fill in, and the race faced a shortage of water.
In the future, steps must be taken to ensure that the companies must show up, preventing this situation from happening again. The companies responsible this time must be punished, to make other companies providing water realize they cannot bail out last minute without facing consequences. Also, the runners should be given a refund for their entry fee, on account of the last second cancellation. Maybe the missing water companies should pay them, solving both issues.
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