KNYSNA NEWS - There was only one serious incident after the Knysna Forest Marathon on Saturday 5 July when a patient entering the medical tent suffered cardiac arrest, according to Jacques Lourens, medical co-ordinator of Frontier Medix.
Lourens said the patient was defibrillated and then transported to hospital in a stable condition.
"About 40 runners were treated for a variety of things – from minor scratches and bruises to dehydration, requiring IV (intravenous) therapy."
He said with large events such as the Knysna Forest Marathon, the biggest challenge is logistics, with a full team of medics covering both the routes (five ambulances), a medical access 4x4, a medical tent, and a venue operations centre (VOC).
Final stretch
"We need to co-ordinate all vehicle movements, calls coming into the VOC, as well as all the equipment and gear needed," Lourens said.
The most common cases they treated were for dehydration. Although the distances were not extreme, he said, the warmer weather did have its casualties.
Lourens said statistically, the final mile (1.6km) is the highest risk for runners and has the highest likelihood of a cardiac event.
"We always keep this in mind and make provisions for runners as they come into the final stretch. We also have a spotter that stands at the arch (race end) for such eventualities," said Lourens.
Previous article: A sea of enjoyment for nearly 8 000 Knysna Forest Marathon runners
‘We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news’
