WHEN EVERY

MOMENT COUNTS
Medical Preparedness 101 for Races

ACTIVEendurance.com/get-started
ARE YOU READY FOR ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING?
On top of growing and managing your event, race directors face more organizational
challenges than ever. Perhaps one of the most critical but under-planned components
for many races is medical preparedness.

++ Formalized incident management system

We asked Dr. Stuart Weiss, CEO
of MedPrep Consulting Group and
medical director for the New York
City Marathon, to share with us
the basics every size race
should focus on.
Command & Control Central Contingency plans for technology outages
In the U.S., formal systems such as ICS, used and physical emergencies can allow for rapid
“No matter the size of your event, a central
by police and fire departments, allow for decision-making that makes the difference
command strategy is an absolute necessity for
consistent, rapid decision-making and ability between cancelling the event or continuing
maintaining situational awareness as information
to assist authorities, if needed. and, sometimes, between life and death.
flows in and decisions are made,” says Dr. Weiss.
++ Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) Communication with key partners and the
Even if your team is small, managing all
Prior to the event, consider all big city should be part of this plan, as well as
operations (not just medical) through a Command
interruptions that could happen and how the positioning of course condition flags to
Center creates efficiency, especially when every
command team would respond, including alert runners to risks in order to
second counts.
such things as lightning, vehicle entering the prevent injury.
course, or a bridge collapsing.
Your strategy should include:
++ Chain of Command
The Command Center should be headed by
someone other than the race director but
who has instant access to the race director
and expressed authority (how much money
can be spent, how many minutes the race can
be delayed, etc). Dr. Weiss recommends four
succession levels be assigned.

Medical Preparedness 101 for Races 2

MEDICAL PREPAREDNESS
Contingency plans for medical emergencies and conditions should always
be integrated with Command Central. Dr. Weiss recommends these best
practices for medical preparedness:
Start with a risk analysis.
Bring in someone with medical expertise to consult
on a health/safety plan for YOUR event, based on
the race distance, climate and potential weather risks
such as tornadoes or flooding, elevation, terrain,
number of runners and community characteristics,
such as rural/city or the area’s ability to provide
adequate medical support. This step is often
neglected, according to Dr. Weiss.
Have a medical professional design your plan,
which should include:
++ CPR and Automated External Defibrillation (AED)
within a 4-minute reach of any point on the
course. Cardiac arrest is the biggest concern
and every minute counts.
++ Enough dedicated resources to not interfere with
the community’s ability to support its citizens.
Assemble a medical team
++ Recruit one physician, as well as medical
personnel recruited from hospitals, training
programs, community centers, schools, etc.
Medical Preparedness 101 for Races
++ Plan for one medical tent about every 5K, or
every 1-1.5 miles for more than a 10K event.
++ Train volunteers in what Dr. Weiss calls the most
common and potentially life-threatening race-
associated symptoms: “too hot, too cold, too dry,
too wet and ‘wobble and fall down’.”
Stock your medical tents
Along with robust communication access to
Command Central, each medical tent should have
medical personnel and supplies to treat common
injuries, including:
++ AED
++ Oxygen
++ Band-aids and antibiotic ointment for road rash
++ Nutrition: water, electrolyte-containing sports
drinks, and carbohydrates such as crackers,
pretzels and fruit.
Conditions to consider for all medical tents
include: dehydration, hyperthermia, hypothermia,
hyponatremia, exercise-associated collapse
(EAC), skeletal injuries, chest pain, asthma and
hypoglycemia. Additionally, some races provide
advanced medical care at the finish line.
Equip bicycles with medical resources
In addition to medical tents along the course,
one bike supplied with first aid and an AED
for every three miles is an effective way
to cover the course.
Plan for medical transport
Prearrange transit to the
hospital, either with the
city via 9-1-1 call or with
a dedicated emergency
vehicle onsite.
3
COMMUNICATION
Communication–with your team, your athletes, your spectators,
and your medical and volunteer staff–is the backbone of a
successful event. You must be able to push out all messages
quickly and effectively.
Race Day Messaging...and Beyond ++
There are countless race day scenarios that
require fast and efficient communication, such as:
++ Communicating medical emergencies to
medical and race staff
++ Sending requests for water or supplies at
volunteer stations
++ Sending race day changes, cancellations,
or severe weather notifications to athletes
and spectators
++ Facilitating team and volunteer ++
communication to ensure smooth race
day operations
++ Contacting emergency medical services or
city departments
++ Pushing out sponsor messages
++ Pushing out live results ++
Centralized Communication Tools
ACTIVE provides a suite of communication tools
that make it easy for race directors to connect
efficiently at every stage of the event:
Medical Preparedness 101 for Races
ACTIVEWorks Endurance Event
Management software
Launch effective campaigns with branding
tools, customizable email templates,
dynamic segmentation and automated
scheduling, and volunteer and customer
relationship management (CRM), along with
automated abandoned cart emails
and performance analytics.
Event App
An app for your event or event series allows
you to push out sponsor messaging at
strategic times when spectators opt in to
track their athlete with live results.
ACTIVE On-Site app
Working from a mobile device, you can
now automatically communicate real-time
database information to your timing software,
allowing registration up to the beginning
of the race start time to maximize race
day revenue.
4
ARE YOU READY?
To ensure an event goes smoothly, race directors need effective systems in place to facilitate
communications. No matter the size of your event, creating a Command Center with a dedicated
coordinator, reliable communication and a well-ordered plan for contingencies is a must when
every moment counts.

Get and stay connected at every point of your event.

888.906.7622 | endurance.info@ACTIVEnetwork.com | ACTIVEendurance.com/get-started

0905_0943 5