Before I go into details of my personal experience and what I witnessed during the event on Sunday I feel that I should give this some background. The last few paragraphs hopefully will hit home for a lot of people on this forum and it's my sincere hope that it will safe someones life in the future if any changes are made by the WTC.
Background
28 y/o Male
Permanent Residence - Austin, TX
(x3) Ironman 140.6 finisher
multiple 70.3's & sub 3 marathons
Training load 8-15 hrs week almost year-round
Lead up to the race - I followed the weather and knew what I was in for the day of the event and took absolutely every precaution possible (hydration, salt, mentally telling myself "not worth pushing it, etc." In the back of my head I hoped that WTC would make the smart descision and shorten part of the course when they knew full well ahead of time that it was going to be 106+ on race day. They opted to start the race 1-hr earlier @5:30am but that didn't solve the main issue of the absolutely atypical race conditions. I remember before the start as they were closing the transition hearing "ARE YOU READY FOR 140.6?!!!" and hearing everyone jeering. In the back of my head I remember thinking "F**k; some of these people don't know what they're getting into. I'm legitimately scared for some of these people right now" If I recall correctly 48 of 50 states were represented; I would guess most people haven't had the opportunity to experience that type of heat in their life...let alone train for it.
Swim - Went great & was as to be expected. I didn't have room in my carry-on for my wetsuit so I did 1 hr 19 min. By far the best swim experience I've probably ever had in a Tri.
Bike - First Loop, went great. The weather wasn't too hot, I didn't ship my tri bike to the race so I rented a Roadie from the Spokane Valley BikeHub (great customer service btw). 2nd Loop it started to get hot (as was expected). The hills hurt a bit worse the 2nd go around but I spun up them with relative ease, my aim was to stay cool & calm as possible in anticipation of the run. Mile 90 I got a flat at the last turn-around, nbd. Mile 95 they ran out of WATER at the aid station (which is before/after one of the biggest climbs). That's when I actually started to realize how underprepared the organizers were; everybody was spraying themselves down with the bottles in an attempt to stay cool in the now brutal heat. Shortly thereafter I saw the first ambulance picking someone off the side of the road. Then again...and again. At that point I'd finally crested the hill and began the last ~10 miles into town. I lost count of people walking their bikes uphill & ambulances at that point. When I got into T2 I hoped to hear something to the effect of "the marathon has been shortened to 13.1" because at this point people weren't going to make it (physically).
Run - After my 3rd suntan lotion application of the day and lots of food, water, gatorade, & salt I headed onto the run course. I made it about 1 or 2 miles before I realized "nope, this isn't worth it...you're cooked." My legs were fine, I really wasn't even sore from the ride at all. It was more like I knew if I kept running I was going to become nauseaus from the heat it was so hot. Maybe 10% of the course was shaded, people had their sprinklers on, and there was sporatic ice, and spunges but it didn't do anything. I heard from two independent sources that the the heat index was 120F+ on the run course due to the pavement, lack of shade, asphault, and low/no wind. I would say if felt like it.
Basically it turned into a 24 mile death march. I hate walking but it would have been stupid to run. Walking was a double edged sword because I knew I'd be on the course even longer. On the run course I witnessed more abulance 'pick-ups.' I tried to trot whenever I was in the shade but those efforts were short-lived & futile at best. I walked the last 2-3 miles with a fellow named John from Seattle...nice guy. Also I want to take this opportunity to say "KUDOS" to the Mile 5 Alien group, their spirit and food was incredibly uplifting. Also I drank 2-3 cups per mile & nibbled food the entire 6hr journey; I took absolutely every precaution possible.
The Finish - I ran/trotted the last .2 miles & crossed the finish line in 14 hrs 21 min. With better conditions & my actual Tri-bike I'd have probably been somewhere sub-12. Immediately after crossing the line I started to feel a slight wave of nausea. I got my picture with the medal but made the concious decison to head into the athlete area instead of the medical tent. I just needed to "sit down." My next thought was "wow everybody here looks worse than I do....and that pizza looks disgusting."
Then after a minute or two (still in the athlete sitting/food area) I had another wave of nausea and thought "I should probably tell someone I need medical attention." When I looked up I couldn't find anyone and shortly thereafter I blacked out. I woke up in the medical tent 20yds away and was told I'd had a seizure (I've never had one), I'd fallen out of my chair, hit my head, and also the back of my ear was bleeding from the impact. I then proceeded to vomit on the 'medical volunteer'...and then on myself. They took my blood pressure and it was 82 (I think...I was pretty F*d up at the time). They wanted to give me an IV but I was too nauseaus and opted for water/gatorade. It took me about 20 min to get back to normal blood pressure/ hydration and then 40 min before they would release me.
The patient next to me (mid 20's - great shape) went into a siezure or cardiac arrest while I was still recovering. It was one of the scariest things I've seen; but what had the biggest impact on me was how unprepared/uncoordinated the medical staff was for that situation. It took them multiple minutes to unpackage & actually use an oxygen bottle. Nobody knew what they were doing and it was probably 5+ min before he started to breathe again and then it was another 5+ minutes until EMT's were in the Medical Tent; this is inexcusable and I hope this guy didn't suffer permanent brain damage (or die) as a result of their unpreparedness and lack of training. This guy was in the Medical Tent and it took 10 min for EMT's to get to him? What if he was on the side of the bike/run course??? I really hope that guy is okay, it scared the sh*t out of me. When I was released from the medical tent I still wasn't 100% by any means but I was allowed to leave. Nobody called my father who was my emergency contact. Getting my bags & bike and walking 2 blocks to my rental car was the 2nd leg of my death march. My phone was in the trunk and I had the first opportunity to contact my family at 11pm CST. Nobody was awake at that point and I couldn't physically put my bags or bike in the car so I just layed in the grass for almost an hour before my sister in Colorado called me back.
My advice to Ironmen & women: ALWAYS have someone attend these races with you. No matter how well prepared you are; sh*t happens. DON'T rely on WTC/Ironman medical staff; they are not as prepared/trained/coordinated as you think they should be. I severely overestimated their capabilities.
TO WTC/ Organizers of Ironman CDA: You knew better. This was a disaster in the making. Why not offer people ~50% off next years race if they chose to opt out last minute? Why not shorten the bike/run when ambulances started picking people off the course in droves?? Why aren't EMT's in the Medical Tent??? Why did you let someone with symtoms of a concussion leave on their own & not offer to contact their emergency contact???? You let a bunch of 'Type A' people (your future/existing clients) try to complete a course in conditions that probably half of them have never even been exposed to let alone trained in??
22% didn't finish the race, I hope nobody was permanently hurt or injured. Please reconsider the conditions you allow us to race in or provide a reasonable opt-out solution; we've all got families we want to go home to & future races to run.
:EDIT: I thought it was implied when I originally wrote this, I am fully aware & responsible for my actions.
#276
Dan Merchant
dan.e.merchant@gmail.com
802.598.5467
Background
28 y/o Male
Permanent Residence - Austin, TX
(x3) Ironman 140.6 finisher
multiple 70.3's & sub 3 marathons
Training load 8-15 hrs week almost year-round
Lead up to the race - I followed the weather and knew what I was in for the day of the event and took absolutely every precaution possible (hydration, salt, mentally telling myself "not worth pushing it, etc." In the back of my head I hoped that WTC would make the smart descision and shorten part of the course when they knew full well ahead of time that it was going to be 106+ on race day. They opted to start the race 1-hr earlier @5:30am but that didn't solve the main issue of the absolutely atypical race conditions. I remember before the start as they were closing the transition hearing "ARE YOU READY FOR 140.6?!!!" and hearing everyone jeering. In the back of my head I remember thinking "F**k; some of these people don't know what they're getting into. I'm legitimately scared for some of these people right now" If I recall correctly 48 of 50 states were represented; I would guess most people haven't had the opportunity to experience that type of heat in their life...let alone train for it.
Swim - Went great & was as to be expected. I didn't have room in my carry-on for my wetsuit so I did 1 hr 19 min. By far the best swim experience I've probably ever had in a Tri.
Bike - First Loop, went great. The weather wasn't too hot, I didn't ship my tri bike to the race so I rented a Roadie from the Spokane Valley BikeHub (great customer service btw). 2nd Loop it started to get hot (as was expected). The hills hurt a bit worse the 2nd go around but I spun up them with relative ease, my aim was to stay cool & calm as possible in anticipation of the run. Mile 90 I got a flat at the last turn-around, nbd. Mile 95 they ran out of WATER at the aid station (which is before/after one of the biggest climbs). That's when I actually started to realize how underprepared the organizers were; everybody was spraying themselves down with the bottles in an attempt to stay cool in the now brutal heat. Shortly thereafter I saw the first ambulance picking someone off the side of the road. Then again...and again. At that point I'd finally crested the hill and began the last ~10 miles into town. I lost count of people walking their bikes uphill & ambulances at that point. When I got into T2 I hoped to hear something to the effect of "the marathon has been shortened to 13.1" because at this point people weren't going to make it (physically).
Run - After my 3rd suntan lotion application of the day and lots of food, water, gatorade, & salt I headed onto the run course. I made it about 1 or 2 miles before I realized "nope, this isn't worth it...you're cooked." My legs were fine, I really wasn't even sore from the ride at all. It was more like I knew if I kept running I was going to become nauseaus from the heat it was so hot. Maybe 10% of the course was shaded, people had their sprinklers on, and there was sporatic ice, and spunges but it didn't do anything. I heard from two independent sources that the the heat index was 120F+ on the run course due to the pavement, lack of shade, asphault, and low/no wind. I would say if felt like it.
Basically it turned into a 24 mile death march. I hate walking but it would have been stupid to run. Walking was a double edged sword because I knew I'd be on the course even longer. On the run course I witnessed more abulance 'pick-ups.' I tried to trot whenever I was in the shade but those efforts were short-lived & futile at best. I walked the last 2-3 miles with a fellow named John from Seattle...nice guy. Also I want to take this opportunity to say "KUDOS" to the Mile 5 Alien group, their spirit and food was incredibly uplifting. Also I drank 2-3 cups per mile & nibbled food the entire 6hr journey; I took absolutely every precaution possible.
The Finish - I ran/trotted the last .2 miles & crossed the finish line in 14 hrs 21 min. With better conditions & my actual Tri-bike I'd have probably been somewhere sub-12. Immediately after crossing the line I started to feel a slight wave of nausea. I got my picture with the medal but made the concious decison to head into the athlete area instead of the medical tent. I just needed to "sit down." My next thought was "wow everybody here looks worse than I do....and that pizza looks disgusting."
Then after a minute or two (still in the athlete sitting/food area) I had another wave of nausea and thought "I should probably tell someone I need medical attention." When I looked up I couldn't find anyone and shortly thereafter I blacked out. I woke up in the medical tent 20yds away and was told I'd had a seizure (I've never had one), I'd fallen out of my chair, hit my head, and also the back of my ear was bleeding from the impact. I then proceeded to vomit on the 'medical volunteer'...and then on myself. They took my blood pressure and it was 82 (I think...I was pretty F*d up at the time). They wanted to give me an IV but I was too nauseaus and opted for water/gatorade. It took me about 20 min to get back to normal blood pressure/ hydration and then 40 min before they would release me.
The patient next to me (mid 20's - great shape) went into a siezure or cardiac arrest while I was still recovering. It was one of the scariest things I've seen; but what had the biggest impact on me was how unprepared/uncoordinated the medical staff was for that situation. It took them multiple minutes to unpackage & actually use an oxygen bottle. Nobody knew what they were doing and it was probably 5+ min before he started to breathe again and then it was another 5+ minutes until EMT's were in the Medical Tent; this is inexcusable and I hope this guy didn't suffer permanent brain damage (or die) as a result of their unpreparedness and lack of training. This guy was in the Medical Tent and it took 10 min for EMT's to get to him? What if he was on the side of the bike/run course??? I really hope that guy is okay, it scared the sh*t out of me. When I was released from the medical tent I still wasn't 100% by any means but I was allowed to leave. Nobody called my father who was my emergency contact. Getting my bags & bike and walking 2 blocks to my rental car was the 2nd leg of my death march. My phone was in the trunk and I had the first opportunity to contact my family at 11pm CST. Nobody was awake at that point and I couldn't physically put my bags or bike in the car so I just layed in the grass for almost an hour before my sister in Colorado called me back.
My advice to Ironmen & women: ALWAYS have someone attend these races with you. No matter how well prepared you are; sh*t happens. DON'T rely on WTC/Ironman medical staff; they are not as prepared/trained/coordinated as you think they should be. I severely overestimated their capabilities.
TO WTC/ Organizers of Ironman CDA: You knew better. This was a disaster in the making. Why not offer people ~50% off next years race if they chose to opt out last minute? Why not shorten the bike/run when ambulances started picking people off the course in droves?? Why aren't EMT's in the Medical Tent??? Why did you let someone with symtoms of a concussion leave on their own & not offer to contact their emergency contact???? You let a bunch of 'Type A' people (your future/existing clients) try to complete a course in conditions that probably half of them have never even been exposed to let alone trained in??
22% didn't finish the race, I hope nobody was permanently hurt or injured. Please reconsider the conditions you allow us to race in or provide a reasonable opt-out solution; we've all got families we want to go home to & future races to run.
:EDIT: I thought it was implied when I originally wrote this, I am fully aware & responsible for my actions.
#276
Dan Merchant
dan.e.merchant@gmail.com
802.598.5467