Ironman Lake Placid

Lake Placid Team KSI

By William Adams, Director of Sport Safety Policies

A few representatives from KSI traveled to Lake Placid, NY for the annual Ironman Lake Placid race on July 26th. For those that are unfamiliar with an Ironman race, it involves a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, and a 26.2-mile run. Competitors have 17 hours to complete the race and if successful can be proud to call themselves an Ironman.

Ironman Village

This year’s race was unique in a number of ways; 1) there were no professional triathletes that raced, allowing the overall male and female finisher to be an amateur athlete and 2) the environmental conditions became very hot (above normal for Lake Placid) halfway through the bike portion of the race, making the race much more stressful than anticipated, and 3) this year’s race saw an athlete suffer from exertional heat stroke which is normally an uncommon sight at a race of this length and duration.

Kestrel at Mirror Lake

KSI’s trip to Lake Placid for the 2015 race was to volunteer to assist in the medical tent at the finish line to treat the athletes that became injured during the race. This year’s race saw a variety of injuries that came to the medical tent throughout the day. Injuries that were treated inside the medical tent included dehydration, hyponatremia, musculoskeletal injuries, and many others.

Medical Tent

The most fortunate part of this experience was being able to see medical providers from various fields of expertise, from various geographical locations and settings come together to provide top-notch medical care for the 2,600 athletes participating in this year’s race. Without these volunteers, the race would not have been a success.