Dozens Transported, Thousands Treated During Humid, Wet Boston Marathon
BOSTON (CBS) -- Monday's swinging weather certainly had an impact on Boston Marathon runners. After a cool and rainy start, the day warmed up and the sun came out. Then more rain returned for runners in the late afternoon.
According to the Boston Athletic Association, 2095 people received medical attention along the course, about 950 of those were after the finish line. There were heat-related issues, blisters, cramps, and hypothermia concerns, but overall, the number was lower than years past.
The B.A.A. says 77 runners were transported to area hospitals. The day after the race, Boston EMS said they transported 33 people and had 2,234 medical encounters.
B.A.A. Medical Coordinator Chris Troyanos said, "[When the] sun came out, we expected, then all of us a sudden probably about 30 or 40 exertional heat strokes on the course and in this tent. That's pretty significant. Those are very serious illnesses. We handled them well, everyone is doing great so far."
He estimated those heat strokes happened within a two and a half hour time frame.
Hours earlier, lightning could have caused a problem, but according to Troyanos, the B.A.A. knew what do to. "When you look at what happened this morning with the electrical storms, we had a plan. It was a combined plan with the B.A.A. and our medical staff and also public safety. We implemented to a T, making sure that our runners and our volunteers were safe. That was big," he said.
"We are always prepared. Again, we are seeing so many extremes but we've got a great medical team working with our public safety partners, we're very coordinated."