The 45th annual Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race was one of the coolest and safest in recent history. Race medical director Dr. Joe Wilson said he treated fewer people in the medical tents than in any of his previous 27 years as medical director.
“We’ve really had, obviously with the weather, had many many fewer heat related issues than we would normally have,” Wilson said.
A start time, the temperature was a cool 67 degrees outside, one of the coolest starts in recent history. In 2013 the start time temperature was 71 degrees.
“This is the fewest medical issues that we’ve had in 25 years, and we attribute that to both the education and experience of the runners and also the conditions,” Wilson said.
Around 11:45 a.m., with most all of the runners already past the finished line, Wilson said six runners were transported to nearby hospitals with cardiac issues though all had previously existing cardiac disease.
He said those runners who were transported to hospitals were “overcome by the exertion” but that none appeared to be critical. More than 50 runners were treated in the medical tent for minor medical issues the most common of which were falls.
“The biggest issue today has been the issues of being in a big crowd and trying to run. Not so much the climatic issues,” Wilson said. “From our standpoint it was a very relaxed year so far.”
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