COMRADES MARATHON – CMA Medical Statistics for 2013 Race Day

The exceptionally hot weather on Race Day – Sunday, 2 June – necessitated the quick response of the Comrades Marathon Association’s (CMA) Medical Team in treating runners requiring medical assistance.

Chief Medic, Dr Jeremy Boulter has issued the medical statistics, saying, ‘The unusually high temperature combined with an abnormally strong wind resulted in a large number of patients at the Medical Tents. However, the good news is that the medical team was fully equipped to handle the workload and all runners were treated or referred to hospital for immediate care.’

833 runners were treated at the Finish Venue at the Pietermaritzburg Cricket Oval; 366 were attended to at the main Medical Tent while 427 sought R&R, rub-downs and mild treatment at the St. John’s Tent. The majority of the patients were treated for dehydration and exhaustion.
 
35 patients were treated at Durban’s St. Augustine’s Hospital while 61 patients were treated at Pietermaritzburg’s St. Anne’s Hospital. Of these, four patients were admitted to the ICU at St. Annes Hospital while one patient was admitted to the Medi-Clinic.
 
Dr Boulter has confirmed that two of the five ICU patients have in the meantime been discharged. The rest are making a good recovery.
 
The CMA has over the years, implemented extensive medical, emergency, first aid and physiotherapy provisions for its thousands of participants. The Comrades Marathon’s medical provisions for Race Day have been described as ‘possibly the world’s largest temporary medical facility outside of a conflict zone’.
 
Dr Boulter says, ‘The main Medical Tent usually sees an average of 250 patients on Race Day but this year was different and more demanding in that we attended to 68% more patients. However, the team was equal to the task and all runners needing assistance found themselves in safe hands.’  
 
 
 
Statement issued by the CMA Media Officer, Delaine Cools on Tuesday, 4 June 2013

Source: Comrades Marathon