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Can participants predict where ambulance‐requiring cases occur at a half marathon?
Author(s) -
Nilson Finn,
Lindberg Fredrik,
Palm Gunnar,
Lundgren Linnea,
Rayner David,
Börjesson Mats,
Thorsson Sofia,
KhorramManesh Amir,
Carlström Eric
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of medicine and science in sports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.575
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1600-0838
pISSN - 0905-7188
DOI - 10.1111/sms.13299
Subject(s) - race (biology) , point (geometry) , medical emergency , meaning (existential) , psychology , demography , medicine , mathematics , sociology , geometry , psychotherapist , gender studies
Objectives Despite endurance races leading to a substantial number of ambulance‐requiring cases (ARC), little is known regarding where they occur, meaning that knowing where to place medical teams, ambulance pick‐up points, etc, is difficult. This article investigates whether the location of ARCs can be identified by race participants. Methods Using the world's largest half marathon (Gothenburg half marathon) as a case, 237 runners were asked, post‐race, to mark on a map which geographical point of the race was most exhausting. Using the level of agreement tests, these geographical points were then compared with the GPS positions of ARCs. Results According to the level of agreement tests, the most exhausting positions (MEP), as identified by participants, seem to be highly correlated to the location of ARCs. This study can also show that ambulance‐requiring cases seem to be more prevalent towards the end of the race and in uphill sections. Conclusions By asking participants where they found the race most exhausting it seems possible to identify high‐risk places for an ARC. From a practical perspective, using this method could considerably increase the safety of competitors as well as improving the cost‐effectiveness of safety interventions at endurance races. Further studies are needed to understand the specific risk factors of the high‐risk areas as well as characteristics of collapsed runners.