Pre-race preparation is vital in the prevention of injuries and illness at the Gold Coast Marathon
By Hayley Payne
The Gold Coast Marathon is just around the corner and with over 27,000 participants expected over the weekend, pre-race preparation is vital in the prevention of injuries and illness.
Two of the most common issues faced by the medical team at the event in recent years have been dehydration and cramping.
Event Medical Director Dr Brent Richards from Gold Coast Health and event physiotherapist Kyle Mitchell from Pindara Physiotherapy and Sports Medicine provide their advice for participants.
“Even though we’re in the middle of winter, our experience of working at the marathon in previous years shows that exercise-induced heat related illness is still common,” said Dr Richards.
“The sort of symptoms we’d encourage you to look out for include headaches, lethargy, nausea and vomiting. More severe symptoms can include weakness in the limbs, slurred speech, confusion and in extreme cases, seizures.
“Dehydration and heat related illness can be fatal, so if you’re feeling faint or unwell during the course of your event, stop and check in with race officials or come to the Gold Coast Health tent and seek our medical support.”
Dr Richards said preparation is the key for participants to avoid dehydration and most other injuries.
“These days participants in the marathon are much better prepared and have usually done extensive training in the lead up to their event, and are better educated on the critical need to stay hydrated for the run,” said Dr Richards.
“As such the key advice is to stay hydrated, drinking both before and during the event as well as after.
“In the day before the event and on the day of the event, we’d encourage participants to avoid dehydrating drinks including caffeine, alcohol and drinks with high sugar levels like most soft drinks and energy drinks, as these can interfere with the rapid absorption of fluids.”
Kyle Mitchell, who will have a team of 15 physiotherapists at the event, said that cramping makes up about 80 percent of the medical presentations during the event.
“We see a lot of runners develop cramping both during and after the race,” he said.
“However, there are some precautions people can make in the week before and even the day of the event.”
Three pieces of advice from Kyle to avoid cramping during the event are:
1. Staying well-hydrated before, during and after the race;
2. Use CrampFix Shots which are designed for athletes that need portable packaging when exercising. Each shot contains 20ml of CrampFix which is enough to prevent and relieve muscle cramps and tightness within 1 – 2 minutes.
3. Ensuring you have had adequate nutrition in the lead up to the race and choosing food that will sustain your body;
4. Ensuring you have trained correctly for your race by getting used to the distance you are about to run.
Sometimes even with lots of preparation, cramps can still occur in the most experienced runners.
Participants will always be close to help with aid stations stocked with water and Fixx Nutrition Fuel X along the course.
Most importantly, Kyle advises that all participants take the time to adequately prepare themselves for the event.
“Injury prevention is a much better situation than people having to deal with cramping during the event,” Kyle said.
“The main thing we try to encourage is to ensure that everyone is ready for the event and prepared for the race to help them have the best Marathon possible.”
The 43rd Gold Coast Marathon will be held Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 July.
Set to attract more than 25,000 participants of all ages and abilities, this year’s race program will feature the Gold Coast Marathon over 42.2km, CPL Wheelchair Marathon, ASICS Half Marathon, Southern Cross University 10km Run, Gold Coast Airport 5km Fun Run, Health and Wellbeing Queensland 4km Junior Dash and 2km Junior Dash.
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