Sports Science Synergy, LLC, Franklin, MA.
Entrinsic Bioscience, LLC, Norwood, MA.
Wilderness Environ Med. 2023 Dec;34(4):509-512. doi: 10.1016/j.wem.2023.06.010. Epub 2023 Aug 14.
The importance of providing wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) heat stress flag category measurements in real time is well recognized by road race directors, and it is bound to become even more important with the rise of extreme weather and pandemic outbreaks. The purpose of this paper is to describe the WBGT index and its components measured during the 125th running of the Boston Marathon on October 11, 2021, for qualitative comparison to measurements made similarly on its traditional April date, 2014 to 2019.
Monitoring occurred at the 7 km, 18 km, and 32 km marks of the race in the towns of Ashland, Natick-Wellesley, and Newton. The outdoor WBGT index was calculated from direct hourly measurements of the dry bulb, black globe, and natural wet bulb temperatures from 0900 to 1500 h.
The WBGT index was not different among towns; thus, the average hourly values for the 3 towns were compared to historical data averaged identically. Although the black globe temperature fluctuated considerably in response to changing cloud cover, on average, partly cloudy skies kept the solar load comparable to what has been observed in April. Dry bulb and wet bulb temperatures were higher than those on most April dates shown, which resulted in a yellow (or amber) flag day for most of the race.
The historic October Boston Marathon was among the warmest in recent history. Like the impact of COVID-19 on the 2021 Boston Marathon, future climate challenges around outdoor activities could necessitate rescheduling; they underscore the importance of real-time WBGT index measures.
实时提供湿球黑球温度（WBGT）热应激标志类别的测量对于公路赛的主办方来说非常重要，随着极端天气和大流行病的爆发，其重要性必然会进一步增加。本文的目的是描述 2021 年 10 月 11 日第 125 届波士顿马拉松比赛中测量的 WBGT 指数及其组成部分，以便与 2014 年至 2019 年传统 4 月日期测量的结果进行定性比较。
在阿什兰、纳提克-韦尔斯利和牛顿镇的比赛 7 公里、18 公里和 32 公里处进行监测。室外 WBGT 指数是根据 0900 至 1500 小时的干球、黑球和自然湿球温度的直接每小时测量值计算得出的。
城镇之间的 WBGT 指数没有差异；因此，将 3 个城镇的平均每小时值与历史数据进行了比较，历史数据也以相同的方式进行了平均。尽管黑球温度因云量变化而波动较大，但平均而言，部分多云的天空使太阳负荷与 4 月观察到的负荷相当。干球和湿球温度高于大多数显示的 4 月日期，这导致比赛的大部分时间都是黄色（或琥珀色）标志日。
历史上的 10 月波士顿马拉松是最近历史上最温暖的马拉松之一。就像 COVID-19 对 2021 年波士顿马拉松的影响一样，未来户外活动的气候挑战可能需要重新安排；这突显了实时 WBGT 指数测量的重要性。
