My Experience as An Athletic Trainer at The Boston Marathon 

Most medical tents had their tents put up overnight but ours wasn’t up since it was going in the middle of the street opposed to a sidewalk or shoulder of a road. I remember the Pros had started the race in Hopkinton MA before the truck was there with all the supplies and the tent. The team was standing there, cold and wet, waiting for the tent and eating baked goods that the lead medic had made for everyone. It was a friendly group. Most people had been there the year before, some up to 7 years in a row at the same mile marker. They became like a group of high school friends, all reconnecting when home for the holidays, catching up on each others lives, families and how the year had been going. Most locally within Massachusetts and New Hampshire, some farther coming from Arkansas and Texas.  But everyone was there, in the cold and rain, with a big smile on their face ready to help. First the supplies arrived to the spot but there was not yet a place to start setting up.  When the tent finally came, at least 8 men all jumped out of the back setting around large cinder blocks to tie the tent down, the metal framework of the tent and unfolding large canvases to set up the roof and walls of the tent. They put in heaters and connected to a power source and in the most impressive performance, had to have cleaned up, jumped back in the truck and drove off in less than 10 minutes. I am not sure what company these guys were or how they were associated with the Boston Marathon, but this alone is a reflection of the race and how efficient and smooth it all runs. 

More time goes by, as a team we all go over roles and expectations together. We plan to triage as Green, yellow and Red. 2 EMTs will be on the route ready to bring in runners as needed. They will triage and find out the status of the runner. If coherent, responsive and still running, they would be considered GREEN and come to me. I would likely wrap blisters, give icy hot or Vaseline for chafing and evaluate an injury if needed and then send them on the way. The massage therapist or I could work with them to help reduce cramping and get them back on the course. If they were falling over, struggling to communicate and we were worried of a medical condition, they would be yellow and if they had collapsed, were incoherent or unresponsive, they would be red and a medical emergency. We had specific nurses, PAs and EMTs manage these patients. We had one physician who could bounce around to all 3 sections to see everyone before sending them back onto the course. With every person that came in, we would document on an Ipad their name and their bib number and what the treatment was. We were able to call down to the next mile marker to let them know if a runner we were concerned about was coming to their tent next. 1,900 medical personnel volunteer along the course each year. If you were to divide those numbers evenly at each mile marker, that would be medical professionals at each stop. 

The course is laid out that there are fewer stops in the beginning, and they become more frequent at the end of the race. The tents at the finish line are huge with hundreds of medical personnel there to catch runners at the finish line, bring them to the tent, and nurse them back to health or send them to the hospital. The ambulances are waiting along the route and at the finish ready to shuttle people as needed. Police are at every intersection and stationed around crowded cheering areas. Meteorologists are constantly measuring temperatures, humidity and other environmental factors along the race that can impact conditions for running. 

The Boston Marathon is the most impressive race I have ever been a part of. They think about every little detail, they cover their bases with volunteers, and they go above and beyond. It was a great experience volunteering for the Boston Marathon, and I am lucky to now be a part of the medical community. Right now I am training for half marathons and a half Ironman, and I look forward to qualifying for the Boston Marathon once I am in my 30s. For now, I will just volunteer.