Blog: A Marathon Effort

Rory Brown, Physiotherapist at the St Mary’s Clinic, is responsible for organising and managing a team of around 75 physiotherapists at the London Marathon each year, working alongside doctors, St Johns Ambulance staff and podiatrists to provide essential support to the runners as they finish. Rory is currently collating information on the frequency and type of injuries that occurred during the London Marathon and reflective feedback from those involved, In addition to liaising with the Boston Marathon to better understand how the similarities and differences between the races may impact upon runners. He has written this blog to explore his experience so far. As the post-race analysis and reviews are finalised following the 35^th Anniversary London Marathon this year, it is time to see what lessons can be learned. This not only goes for the runners but also the many volunteers who supported them on race day. This review helps to identify any elements that can be addressed in order to improve the standards of care for runners and also the learning experience of those volunteering their time. Doing this over a number of years has allowed the physiotherapy team to start building a solid database so that elements such as the weather or finishing times can be factored in to more effectively predict the “what and when” of problems that runners may experience. To take this further, I have started to collaborate with colleagues at the Boston Marathon, another of the marathon majors. Having gone out to Boston for the marathon last year I was able to meet up with the medical team led by Chris Troyanos and Dave Nolan, who are responsible for looking after runners over the race weekend. I also had the opportunity to shadow medical staff during the invitational mile races, the Boston Athletic Association 5km and the Distance Medley events which took place a couple of days before the marathon. This has started some great dialogue about both volunteer education and also best practice in dealing with injuries and health issues presenting following the marathon. While there are a number of similarities between the two races, the way the medical teams and facilities are set up is very different. This has helped a great deal when thinking about alternatives to our structure in London and the pros and cons involved. For this year’s London Marathon, Kristina Fleming, a member of the Boston team, made the trip to London. Kristina has been part of the medical team in Boston for a number of years and spent race day with myself and the other physiotherapists, working with everyone from the elite runners to the late finishers on what was another successful London Marathon. After the race Kristina said, “It was an amazing experience to be able to observe another marathon medical team and see some of the differences. There are definitely some ideas that I'll take back.” It is hoped that by continuing to share experiences and ideas, as marathon physiotherapists, we can continue to not only optimise support for the runners on race day but also to improve the education of both volunteers and runners alike.